


A Reason to Dance with You

by ONR



Category: Zootopia (2016)
Genre: Eventual Romance, Eventual Smut, F/M, Friends to Lovers, Interspecies Romance, Police Procedural, Sexual Content, Slice of Life, Slow Burn, Unofficial Sequel, Zootopia Police Department
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-09
Updated: 2020-12-25
Packaged: 2021-03-04 05:14:30
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 14
Words: 120,477
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24618169
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ONR/pseuds/ONR
Summary: NOTE: I am a writer who supports Black Lives Matter, LGBTQIA2+ Rights, Trans Rights, and Feminism. If you don't like any of that, don't read my stories. Thank you.Bellweather's been arrested. The case, as it seems, should be pretty cut and dry. But now, what is going to happen between the fox and the rabbit? He had no reason to hang out with a police officer, did he? And she, had no reason to interact with street hustlers. It is in the light of the flashing patrol cars that we begin, as we try to work our way to the answer of why Nicholas P. Wilde, hustler, becomes Constable Nicholas P. Wilde, an officer of the ZPD.And. . . What happens when these two unlikely friends spend every day, and every afternoon, enjoying one another's company. . .
Relationships: Judy Hopps/Nick Wilde
Comments: 285
Kudos: 294





	1. The end is a beginning

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>   
> Welcome to 'working title' Zootopia 2: Electric Boogaloo. This has been in the wings for some time now, and I finally had the time to write the prologue. Finally, I can answer a question I've had in my head for a long time. How does that fox, as shifty as he is, become an officer? And, better yet. . . What happens after it? I hope everyone here enjoys it, but, first, I have to address something.
> 
> Like in the latest chapters of my Fics, I'm going to say here #BlackLivesMatter. Yes, this is a police fic, but, I have two years of criminal justice university to say that 'not all cops' is not a defence to anything. We all know it's not all cops. But that doesn't mean something shouldn't be done about this. The original Peelian Principles is what I base my ZPD on (And the Met Police of London), because they are the purest, 'noblest' police intent there is. Not perfect, but their intent is at least purer than what we see on the news today. What does this have to do with anything?
> 
> Well, in making the BLM comment, I had one person on my other Zootopia fic get upset for my stance on that. Funny in a fandom of an anti-racist movie. I'm neither upset or bothered, but, now I want to have a little bit of fun here. Due to their anger, I decided to run a 'fundraiser' for some BLM charities with this fic. If a bunch of people donated money, I would write this with +18 plus, mature, explicit chapters (when we get to that point). Now, I don't normally write NSFW. It's not really my thing, and I never expected to do so. But, in making my foolhardy but well-meaning charity fundraiser plot, the readers of this first chapter ended up donating over $250 dollars to BLM charities, with receipts to prove it to me. So, now here I am, writing my first 'eventually explicit' story. . . I have no idea what I'm doing, no idea how good it will be, and I will never do this again. But, I am a furry of my word, so, I'm committed now.
> 
> Still, if anyone else wishes to donate, here is a [link](https://blacklivesmatters.carrd.co/#donate) to a page filled with related charities, with various purposes. I obviously do not condone the violence or the looting that has occurred. However, I do empathize with the frustration, and I cannot write off their anger as justification that their point is invalid, that they have no right to express their pain. They do have a right. But, again, just reminding people that this will be an 18+ story eventually, everyone be aware, and minors can GTFO
> 
> When we get there, anyway. I'll be honest, that'll be a bit of a slow burn. I adhere to the directors' comments that they aren't in a relationship yet, which means I've got to get all the way to the Gazelle concert without them being in a relationship. Imma hit the gas in the first chapter, I'm gonna try and burn through a lot of the little stuff. But, it still might be a few chapters.
> 
> If I need help, I will consult my roommate, who has apparently read a shit-ton of adult shit lately.. Yeah. . . My roommate fell for the furry ploy. I will add the appropriate tags and upgrade the rating when we get to that point. If I ever figure out how to write that, at least.
> 
> I own nothing here, it all belongs to Disney, get your vultures off my back or I swear I will cry or something.

“Y’know, you’re a pretty good actor.”

The red and blue lights of emergency vehicles flashed brilliantly in the front windows of the National History Museum. The strange group of mammals were at the ambulance, with the rabbit seated on the transport bed. The fox, on the other hand, was pleasantly sitting down on the step.

“I’m pretty good at a lot of things, fluff.” The fox replied, haughtily, as an EMT flashed a bright light into his eyes. Instinctively, he closed his eye and shook his head. “I’m fine, seriously.”

The female porcupine rolled her eyes. “You fell into a pit. Checking for a concussion is the least I should do.” But they seemed to be satisfied with the brief check they got, as they put away the flashlight.

The rabbit nodded along, unsurprising to Nick. Of course, Miss Hopps would want to ensure he was ‘safe’. But he knew he was fine. Judy had her own EMT checking the gash on her leg. Nick had been on the street enough to know that it was going to need stitches, at least.

Of course, that wasn’t the only kind of wounds that would need to be mended. “So. . . Do you think they’ll give you your job back?” Nick asked the question that had hung in his mind. . .

Judy shook her head, wincing when the EMT applied a proper pressure bandage to her leg. “I don’t know. . . I officially resigned, so, I might have to reapply. . . If Bogo’s willing to consider it. . . They might not be happy with me for not coming to them first with this.”

Nick nodded slightly. She had a good point. Of the few interactions he’d had with Buffalo Butt, it was clear he was pretty easy to anger. “I’m sure they’ll just take you back. You’re the best they have, after all.”

The rabbit laughed, as the EMT finished binding the cut. “Well, I guess we’ll see, won’t we? But, what about-“

“I’m sorry to have to cut this short, but we need to head to the hospital to put in some stitches. . . And, you’re going to need a prescription of antibiotics and pain medication.” The EMT anteater interrupted, as she stood up and helped the rabbit shuffle further up onto the bed.

Nick was pretty sure she might need crutches, too, considering that she had trouble walking. And, the last thing she needed was torn stitches. Nick’s EMT stood, shaking her head at the uncooperative fox. “I’m afraid you’ll have to stay behind sir. Family only, and I’m sure the ZPD officers here will want to talk to you.”

Nick nodded and stood up. “Fair enough.”

“Nick!” The rabbit shouted, sitting up on the bed as the other EMT helped her buckle herself into the bed. “I just wanted to. . . Thank you, again. For, everything.”

He smiled and shrugged. “Think nothing of it, Carrots. Have a fun trip.” He responded as the EMT closed the back doors. He could barely see her slight wave, but it made him snort slightly.

Then, the porcupine EMT turned to him. “She’ll be at Zootopia Central if you want to visit. But she won’t be there long.” Before waiting for a response, the EMT slowly sauntered her way around the ambulance, towards the door.

Nick shook his head. “Thanks.” He muttered, as he turned and started to walk back towards the front of the Museum. Most of the ZPD officers were there, taking interviews from subway employees, and dealing with all of Bellweather’s lackeys. One officer was even talking with the curator of the museum, likely trying to get access to the CCTV footage. If there was any.

In Nick’s experience, CCTV footage often looked like it was taken on a potato. When his cellphone had a better camera, that was pretty bad. But, that’s why police needed witnesses.

Smirking, he found it rather hilarious to be on this side of things for once. To be needed, and wanted by the police.

He didn’t have much time to gloat, though, as the light of the sun suddenly disappeared. The fox turned, to see the large, somewhat familiar form of the police chief, looming over him.

“Hello, sir.” Nick responded cheerfully, as he turned to face the bovine. He crossed his arms, looking up at the monolith of male attitude. Chief Bogo didn’t look like the happiest man, but, maybe that was just his relaxed state.

“Mr. Wilde. Would you be willing to provide a statement to the police about what you have seen today?” The buffalo asked, cautiously. Generally, there was something to be said for that consideration. “You were the only other witness to the Night Howler serum farm and the suspects there. Your testimony would be essential in ensuring their conviction for their crimes.”

Nick bobbed his head, considering it for a moment. While certainly a gruff individual, he really liked to slather that butter all over, didn’t he? The fox was very impressed, honestly. “Yes, sir. I would love to provide my testimony to a officer.”

At that moment, he saw a slight twinge of relief on Bogo’s face. Clearly he’d suspected the fox to be more difficult than that. “Good, uh, thank you, Mr. Wilde. I will have Officer Fangmeyer-“

Bogo was right to suspect that. “Ah, no.” Nick interjected, waving his hand dismissively as he closed his eyes and shook his head. “I said I would provide my statement to _a_ Officer. Not ‘an’. As in, one of my choosing, not yours.”

Bogo’s head jerked back slightly. “Sir?”

“Y’see, I had this unfortunate experience. Yeah, I was with a group of officers, and some superior said something like. . . ‘You’d think I would trust the words of a fox’. . . Right in front of those officers. Oh, wait, that was you, wasn’t it? I surely wouldn’t want to be interviewed by someone who feels that way about a fox, right?”

He watched, as the police chief seemed to shrink as his shoulders dipped. Nick smirked, smugly. That was right, Nick hadn’t forgotten. And, Nick was pretty sure that Bogo saw where this was going already. “Okay, sir, what officer would you like to interview you?”

The big buffalo’s voice was straining slightly, their displeasure leaking through. But, Nick was the one with the power now, wasn’t he? “Officer Judith Laverne Hopps.”

Bogo let out a sigh, lifting a hoof to his forehead. “Ms. Hopps is not an offic-“

“Oof, that’ll look bad. . . First, a certified newbie solves a crime you can’t in 48 hours. . . And then, she quits, and finds the ringleader responsible? All with the help of a ‘shifty fox’, not the ZPD? Not taking her back after that. . . That’d be quite a headline, wouldn’t it?” He muttered as he rubbed his chin curiously, looking at the reporter vans parked behind the emergency vehicles.

The buffalo was obviously pissed, as his eyes narrowed at the annoying fox. But, he was a smart fox. He knew exactly what he was doing. “It’s not that simple, Mr. Wilde. . . But, I will talk with Ms. Hopps about her possible reinstatement.”

Nick snorted. as he pulled out a small slip of card paper. As a street hustler, it always paid to have a business card handy. . . Well, at least one with only your first name and phone number on it. “Well, when you’ve got that sorted out with Carrots, have her call me, and we’ll set up an interview.”

The buffalo reached down and took the card. Glaring. “Sir, the sooner we get your witness statemen-“

“Ah!” Nick interrupted, as he began to walk backwards. “I think what you mean, sir, is ‘the sooner Carrots has her job back’. . . I’ll be waiting.” He spoke sarcastically, watching as the buffalo crushed the card in his fist, glaring at the fox.

But, as he turned around and started walking down the street, the fox was smiling heavily. There wasn’t much the buffalo could do if he didn’t want to give a statement. Forcing him to open the ZPD to criticism of speciesism, if he complained.

The buffalo didn’t have many choices. It might take a week. Maybe a few days. But, he’d either have to cave, or lose valuable help. . . He’d feel bad for dicking over Judy, though. This was her case, after all. . .

Eh. There was no way Bogo wouldn’t rehire her. And, at minimum, he’d get to see her again then. As he walked the slow walk back to his house, he internally patted himself on the back. He was a sly fox, after all.

Nick flicked the switch on, the weak light flickering as it illuminated his small room. The wallpaper was yellow; whether by original colour or time, he couldn’t tell. Not that it mattered much, as he shuffled around his small studio.

It was barely a studio, really. In the basement ‘suite’ of the apartment complex, it was both the cheapest and possibly the worst apartment in all of Sahara Square.

He could’ve stayed somewhere else. He could’ve afforded a much better place. But, people didn’t go looking for you in the dingy places. And, the landlord here never asked any questions, never questioned any of his comings or goings, or even noticed that he existed most of the time.

But it was home. It had been home for a long time. He threw his keys lackadaisically on the kitchenette counter and wandered the few short feet to his bed. And, with a sigh, he fell into it.

And groaned, heavily. The fox ached. All over. In every limb, in every muscle he had. That fucking rabbit was horrible. And on top of all of that, his mattress was literally trash.

What had she gotten him into? Just today, specifically? Fighting with criminals. Thrown from a train. Running all over the museum. Being tossed into a pit, violently. And on top of that, any emotional grief he had from having to deal with the rabbit who. . .

Nah, now wasn’t the time to think about that kind of stuff. She apologized. She cried. And she had blueberries. That was the important thing, right? Yeah, sure, that’s what mattered most.

Now, everything in Nick’s life could just get back to normal. He could call up Finnick, get the racket going again. Go back to the simple, easy life of a fox. Like he was supposed to.

Still. . . The adventure with that rabbit was a fun one. He’d honestly miss her maybe when all this was over. That wit, that charm. That personality. It was some of the most fun times he’d ever had in his life.

But, who knew? Maybe he’d run into her again. Face planted into the bed, he smirked at the thought. Seeing her on patrol, in that nice uniform. Probably being talked to, checked to see if he was doing anything too shifty. . .

He’d probably have to start doing his taxes. . . Eh, maybe not. . . He could suave his way out of that bunny’s clutches. . . He could imagine the kinds of conversations they might have. And, a few interactions. . .

His imagination was limitless with that rabbit, as he slowly dozed off.

* * *

_Bzzzzzzzz-bzzzzzzzz_

Nick let out a groan, as a strange sound began to rouse him from his sleep.

_Bzzzzzzzz-bzzzzzzzz_

Was that his. . . Phone? He lifted his head, blinking painfully as he reached for the nearby side table. But, a quick pat around revealed nothing.

_Bzzzzzzzz-bzzzzzzzz_

Oh. . . . That was right. He hadn’t taken any of his clothes off before he’d dozed off. . . He reached into his pocket, and pulled out the offensive object. He glared at the screen, noting first that the time was 8:30 in the fucking AM.

Who the fuck wa-. The obvious name flashed on the screen. Oh, the ZPD. . . What could they fucking want? Did that damn buffalo not understand a damn thing he’d said to them? He hit the answer button and held it to his ear. At the very least, he needed to take the opportunity to complain to the person that they were being disturbed.

“What?” The fox demanded, growling into the phone. He was too tired for tact. And, if the buffalo was on the other end trying to beg him into coming in, then the buffalo was going to learn what happened when you annoyed the fox that early in the morning.

Generally nothing. . . But, hey. He could at least be mad about it.

“Hello sir, my name is Officer Clawhauser.” A male voice came through the phone, somehow full of joy at eight in the morning. “Are you Mr. Nick Wilde?”

Was he Mr. Nick Wilde this early in the morning? “Yes?” He responded as he rolled onto his back with a sigh.

“Oh, good. Well, I was calling to ask if you had time to come in for an interview regarding the incident that occurred yesterday. . . Would you be available at, say, at 12:00 PM?” The officer continued, in that same sickeningly cheery tone.

Nick shook his head, as he sat up in the bed. Did Bogo seriously think that sixteen hours would change Nick’s mind? He still had his demands, which he was sure couldn’t be fulfilled already.

Of course. . . He did think about how Judy would have felt, knowing he was being difficult. . . Heck, he was probably lucky that she didn’t have his cell number, or she’d probably have chewed him out for it. “Look, I already talked to Chief Bogo, he knows what my requests are.”

The was a pause on the other line, as he heard the crackle of the speaker moving slightly. “Yeah. . . Chief Bogo told me that you could come in, and talk further about your request if you could. But he also told me to assert that you come in for an interview anyway.”

Nick shook his head. “Is Car-“ He paused, shaking his head. “Is Officer Hopps conducting the interview?” He asked, somewhat loftily.

“Uh, I haven’t seen Judy all day. The last time I heard, she was still in the hospital.” The officer continued, confirming his suspicions. Also worrying him. Did she get a concussion, maybe? Or, something else? She didn’t have anyone in the city to look after her if she did. . . So, they’d probably keep her overnight for observation.

But, that wasn’t their argreement. “Fine. I’ll come in to talk to the Chief, but not an interview.”

“Great! So, does 12 work for you?” Officer Clawhauser continued, joyously.

Nick looked at the clock, and frowned. “Make it 12:30.”

Nick looked around the sparse room, legs crossed as he sat in the small steel chair. The walls were grey. The tables were grey. It was all so blah.

And, to top it off, the chairs were uncomfortable, as he stared angrily at the large glass window on the wall. He doubted anyone was watching, he wasn’t exactly a criminal after all. He was just there for an interview. Besides, the little camera he saw blinking in the corner of the room was likely more than enough for the purpose.

He went to the front desk when he arrived and asked where the chief’s office was. Instead, the large cheetah behind the desk directed him to the interview rooms and told him to wait in 2-H. He’d said someone would be there shortly to talk to him.

Of course, that was thirty minutes ago, and Nick was flicking one foot up and down in impatience. Especially knowing that they were probably doing this on purpose. Make him pissed, then maybe he’ll just try and get it all over with.

Making anyone wait at this steel table, across from an empty chair, was bound to be frustrating. But, it wasn’t going to work. He had his demands, and he wasn’t going to cooperate. Unless, like, Judy called him or something. And asked him to.

Yeah, he’d probably cave for that. . . Was he really being this much of a dick, for no reason? Hindering the police’s actions? Normally that would be fine to him, but now. . . He felt like a bit of an asshole. But, he was doing it for a good reason, right?

Of course. The ends justified the means, always. . . Maybe. He crossed his arms, as the angry look turned into a contemplative stare at the tabletop. There was no way they would refuse having Judy rejoin. So what if it took her a bit to do it?

_Clink. Clink_. A sound came from beyond the door, as his ears turned.

Through the door, he heard muffled words. They soundproofed this place well, considering even he couldn’t make it out.

_Click._ The door handle turned, and it was quickly pulled open by an unseen force.

“Thanks, Ben.” A familiar voice called out, as the rabbit slowly manoeuvred herself on crutches through the doorway. She was dressed in a police uniform, but not the tactical one he’d seen her in before. This was more of a regular patrol one. It looked good on her. The cheetah from the front was holding the door open with a pleasant smile.

“No problem!” Nick stared at the rabbit, surprised as she paused on her crutches just past the doorway, as it slid closed behind her.

“Hey, Nick. I’m sorry for keeping you waiting. These things really suck on stairs.” She spoke, smiling as she slowly began to make her way to the chair.

Without thinking, Nick stood up quickly, and moved around the table to pull the second chair out. The rabbit smirked at him, as she made her way over. Underneath her one arm, pinned to a crutch, was a brown folder. “Carrots. . I’m sorry. I didn’t think they’d make you do this while. . . Recovering.”

The rabbit chuckled. “Don’t worry about it. I’m only on crutches until my cut actually starts healing. It was a little too long to go straight back to walking. . . I have to say, it’s an interesting workout, though. Thanks.”

Judy set the folder onto the table, as she slipped carefully into the chair. She propped her crutches up, as Nick made his way back to his seat. “Besides, you specifically requested me. . . How could I refuse?”

Nick felt a little embarrassed suddenly, as he sat back down. “I figured if I gave Bogo an ultimatum, he’d have to hire you back. . . He did, right?”

The rabbit smirked at him, as she opened the folder and pulled out a pen. “Yes, he did. We talked about it at length yesterday, but the hospital wouldn’t let me go home to my elevator-less apartment until I could use crutches on stairs properly. Since, I live alone. Thanks for. . . You know, sticking up for me.”

Nick grinned, as he leaned back in his chair. “Ah, don’t mention it. You worked hard for your uniform, you should have it.”

Judy smiled softly, as she pulled out a few sheets of interview paper. “Well, I think we should probably get started. Before you forget anything important, of course.” She teased, as she clicked her pen a few times.

Nick rolled his eyes, as she slowly began filling out the boring details. He leaned back in the chair, watching the rabbit as she scribbled away. A minute later, she raised her eyes to look at him.

Her purple iris’ were interesting. . . Nick never saw anything like them before. “So, can you give me your full name sir?” She spoke teasingly, as she waved the pen a wave.

“Nicholas Piberius Wilde.”

“Okay. I know how, but for assurance. . . How do you spell it?”

“Is there anything else that you want to add to this statement?” Judy asked as she continued writing.

Nick shrugged. “No, I think that’s it, Carrots. I don’t remember anything else important, at least.”

Judy smiled. “No, you gave a lot of information, Nick. I’m really impressed, this will be extremely important. . . Have you given this statement voluntarily, and it is true and accurate to the best of your knowledge?”

“Yes, fluff.” He answered, shaking his head. She was such a stickler for procedure. . . It was adorable. She finished writing and drew a zig-line through the last few empty lines.

“Alright. I’m going to need you to read over your entire statement, initial on all of the corrections, sign at the bottom of each, and initial both ends of the final zig-zag.” She requested, as she gathered the papers together, and pushed them over towards him.

Nick shook his head and reached out for her pen. She passed it, and he began reading the statement over, as fast as he could.

He read it. Signed the page. Read the next page, signed at the bottom. Made sure all corrections were initialled. Moved onto the next page. And so on, for what seemed like an endless number of pages. But, finally, he came to the final page of the statement, with its zig-zag and final questions.

He bobbed his head sarcastically as he finished the page, initialled the zig-zag, and signed at the bottom of the final page.

His brows fell, as he looked at the paper curiously. that was the final page. . . But why was there another page under it? Did he have to sign something else?

He turned what he thought was the end page over, and stared at the folded, slightly crumpled and worn page that had been hidden under the stack of pages.

It already had his signature at the bottom. . . But, the colour of the pen was different. He looked up at the header of the page, with a large ZPD badge emblazoned beneath it.

_Zootopia Police Department_

_Employment Application Form_

Underneath, his name was filled in. His citizenship, height, weight, species and predator. . . Special abilities.

Wait. . . This was. . . She kept it? The fox looked up in surprise. The rabbit stared at the table, ears flopped down in. . . embarrassment? “I thought that. . . Well. . . Yesterday, we worked so well together. We got the bad guys. . . I thought that maybe you might like to, um. . . Reconsider joining me. On the ZPD. . . . I understand if you’re still mad at me. And, want to. . Walk away, and never se-. . .”

She started, and Nick could see the water building in her eyes. “I can’t submit this, Carrots. . .” He answered, causing her to tilt her head up to look at Nick. She seemed so sad. . .

The fox shook his head and turned the piece of paper towards her, showing her his scribbles from so long ago. “The date at the bottom is from, like, three months ago. My scribble-out work here is very unprofessional. And, I probably could’ve elaborated a little more for my ‘special abilities’. . . Who would ever take this application seriously? Do you have a new one, or was it a one-shot deal?” He continued, as his mouth curved into a smile. She wiped the water from her eye, shaking her head with a slight sniff.

“Yeah, I can get you one. . . I can also get the whole application form, while I turn this statement over if you want.”

Nick nodded, as the rabbit put the witness statement into the folder, and carefully stood up and got on her crutches. Wait. “That’s not the whole form?” He asked as he stood up. He picked up his old application form and slipped it into his pocket. Wasn’t that enough information?

The rabbit started towards the door with a laugh. “Not even close, Nick. This form’s just so they open your file and send you the full documents. You’ve got a lot of filling out to do, and that is just step one.”

Nick followed her to the door, turning the knob before she had a chance to position herself to it. He stepped past, pulling the door open full for her. “Step one?” He asked, nervously.

“Oh, you’re in for a real treat, Nick. . . There is, an 11-step process, before training. Don’t worry, fox, I’ll sit down with you and help you with the forms. You might want to start physical training, too.” The rabbit spoke, as she crutched her way over to a nearby desk.

She passed it to the officer behind the desk and turned to Nick. “Don’t you have. . . cop stuff to do?”

Judy scoffed. “No, I’m on 'physical injury' leave. I only came in for this, since you were being an ass. C’mon, I think Ben has the full application forms at the desk. Or, at least he’ll know where they are. You’re not busy right now, are you?”

Nick continued following the rabbit, trying to wrap his head around what she was saying. Help with the forms, why? And physical training? What did she mean by busy, how much time was this going to take? “Yeah, sure. . . How many pages is this application form?”

“Around 50. Ish? I think?”

_Fuck._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>   
> Thanks for reading! I hope you all liked it! Most of my chapters will be longer than this, but, as a prologue, I didn't want to jump too far into the 'application' phase just yet.
> 
> ~~Now, remember our deal~~ EDIT: The deal I have to remember now. . . I will make the mature sections on separate chapters, in case there are those that wish to skip through it. If you are the angry person who spurred this on, and you see +18 chapters here. . . Congratulations, you have vicariously donated to a BLM movement. EDIT: HEY EVERYONE, HE DID FIND IT! AND ANGRILY COMMENTED! YAAAAAAAY!  
> That Angry Dude=0 Furries for BLM=1!
> 
> Also, I will note here that it is also Pride month, and I stand with all members of the LGBTQ2+ community. My good (now extremely furry) friend is also a bi furry. She'll simp for anything with a tail. I stand against racism, sexism, homo/trans/a-phobia, and will continue to outspokenly support you and challenge those that oppose. I refuse to be silent.
> 
> If a writer having those convictions upsets you, I am truly sorry. 
> 
> For you.
> 
> EDIT: To hopefully catch all y'all heading for the comments section, I wanted to add this. I've gotten comments about how they come here to escape the 'politics'. If you have anxiety, or it is for your mental health then I understand and encourage you to escape for your own health. However, for those that do not have that reason, this is not 'politics' anymore. Politics means 'policy debate', basically. And POC wake up to this, drive to work to this, work their days in this, go home in this, live their lives in this every single day. It was once said that a white person could walk through life never knowing that he was white. No one would stop them and say 'hold on, you're white'. There are no holds, no bars that they would encounter just for being white. But, a black person would have it pointed out pretty quickly. To POC around the world, this isn't 'politics'. It's their lives. And, labelling it 'politics' because it's something you don't want to deal with is suggesting that their lives are a policy decision, up for debate. You can argue 'not the right way', 'look at the looting' or any of that stuff. And there is a discussion for that. But it will never negate the reasons they are protesting. And, I will never see this through the lens of 'politics', because when I hear that, all I can imagine is white people in a room, debating what to do with black lives.
> 
> When the answer is and has always been, Black Lives Matter.


	2. The Fox, the Rabbit. . . And the Coyote

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>   
> _“Bean counters said I couldn’t fire a man just for saying ‘but, all lives matter’. Did it anyway. Ignorance of racial issues is (morally) expensive.”_  
>  -Furry Johnson
> 
> Because Portal 2 quotes are always great. #BlackLivesMatter. #Pride. By the generousness of all you wonderful people, this story will indeed be 18+, and raunchy. I mean, eventually. But, it will have a plot, I promise. 
> 
> Now, since anyone here in chapter 2 has at least partially consented to hear my opinions (Or, at least, skipping over them), I thought I would take the moment to discuss the Peelian Principles I mentioned in the last chapter. As it turns out, these were principles that most of America's police did not adopt. I will do one per chapter, thereby making me have to do at least 8 more of this story (Despite having well over that planned). I apologize, in college I was a tutor, so, I love teaching things. These principles outline the 'duties' of a constable, back when the Met Police were first created.
> 
> 1st Peelian Principle: To prevent crime and disorder, as an alternative to their repression by military force and severity of legal punishment.
> 
> Straightforward, right? Well, let's dive in. Prevent crime, as an ALTERNATIVE to repression by force and severity of legal punishment. Well, that throws a wrench in 'deterrence theory', justly so. The meaning of this principle is, the purpose of the police is basically to discourage crime as an effort to prevent it. To look out for the community, all of it. The first 'bobby's' or 'peelers' (Both names originating from 'Sir Robert Peel'), were actually completely unarmed. They had a whistle, for when they saw crime occurring, and they walked through the community as members of that community. They did it, and it helped.
> 
> A good start, but, the more important principles are to come.
> 
> As for the story, there is an OC in here that is based upon one of my real-life teachers at college. He taught me Ethics, and to say that he has been important to my social development is to wildly underestimate his impact. He will become. . . somewhat important here, as we move along. There may or may not be a plot forming. . .
> 
> Anyway, here is the first part of Nick's journey through the policing process. That poor fox is going to have a lot to deal with. And that rabbit. . . Well, don't worry. There will be more of them being friendly in the next chapter.
> 
> Disney owns everything here, except the +18 parts. I hereby copyright the eventual smut that will occur. Wait. I can't do that, can I? Fuck.

_Pant-Pant._

“F-fluff.”

_Pant-Pant._

“I. . .I’m not going to do it, Carrots.”

_Pant-Pant._

“Nick. . . J-just, keep pushing. . .”

_Pant-Pant._

“No, I can’t, Carrots. . . I-It’s.”

_Pant-Pant._

“H-hold it togeth-ther. Almost, there!”

_Pant-Pant_

“No, I can’t, I’m f- Finished. Augh!”

Nick’s run staggered, as he abruptly slowed to a halt. He breathed, heavily, in and out, as he braced himself up on his knees. The rabbit slowed and turned around as she slowly jogged back to the panting fox. She slowed, and raised a hand to her jugular, timing herself with her watch.

“Three kilometres. . . Nick. . . You’re doing better. . .” She panted out, as she quickly began to stretch. He knew she was trying to slow her heartrate, and keep her legs limber as she danced on one foot, stretching her legs carefully.

Nick was a quick fox. He could run fast, there was no doubt. But, endurance. . . He wheezed slightly, as he attempted to calm his breathing. He wasn’t exactly the best at it. Nick might’ve done better, if he hadn’t decided to be an asshole and show off at the start. Sure, he was ahead of the rabbit.

But then shortly the rabbit caught up. And then she started slowing her speed to his, as his endurance slowly drained. “C’mon, Nick, let’s keep walking, we’re almost to the end. We need to keep our heartrates up.” 

He wheezed, as he slowly started moving forward. Nick straightened up, shaking his head. “I can’t do this, Carrots. . .” He murmured, before taking a deep drink of water from his water bottle.

The rabbit shook her head, as she lightly bounded beside him. Meanwhile, his walk was more of a drag, as he tried to cool himself off. The park was a great place for a run, and Nick had enjoyed it a lot before all of this started. But now, the rabbit had him out here every other day, running. And when he wasn’t, he was studying, under order of her.

She couldn’t join every day, since she resumed her duties. But, she still made an effort to come out on her days off, something that Nick enjoyed. Even if it meant dressing in this ridiculous exercise wear and embarrassing himself in public.

Shorts were not his kind of thing. Ever, in his entire life. He didn’t have very good-looking legs.

“Come on, Nick. You’re doing fine! If you keep putting in this much effort, by the time you got to the academy you’ll breeze through it!” The chipper rabbit continued, as she drank from her own water bottle.

Other runners passed him, as they slowly made their way back to where they had started. Nick shook his head, as they made their way up to a nearby bench. “No, Carrots. . . I mean. . . I can’t do this. . . This cop thing. . .” He said, as he made his way over to the bench.

But, the rabbit seized his arm, and tugged him lightly towards the grass. Why did he even try anymore? He knew the rules, he had to stretch after running. He just wanted to stop everything right now. “Stop. You’ll do fine.”

Nick shook his head, as the rabbit sat down on the grass in front of him. She moved herself into a stretch and waved for him to join her. Nick lowered his eyes, and sighed. “No recruiter is going to consider me when they read that application form. . . I can’t even believe the intake mammals didn’t shred it immediately.”

When they started the process, Nick hadn’t expected the Pre-Employment Disclosure form. Nor, of course, the polygraph examination that came with it. He thought not being convicted was enough, but, then you needed to answer numerous questions about your history.

And on page three, right at the start, was the question ‘Have you ever lied about your income in forms submitted to the Zootopia Revenue Agencies, or evaded paying income tax for any undeclared earnings?’ Nick had wanted to stop the moment he saw that question, but Judy told him to answer truthfully, and honestly.

So, he did. And then Judy encouraged him to contact the revenue agency and attempt to resolve the issue without criminal charges occurring. That was a stressful phone call. . . They agreed, however, the late fees were. . . . extravagant. 

For once, Nick was very glad he’d been conservative with the money he’d earned over the years, as he ended up having to surrender all of the remainder over to the ZRA. He was also glad that he exaggerated how much he made to the rabbit, because otherwise that would’ve been truly horrible.

He barely had enough to live on anymore. . . In just a few months, he wouldn’t be able to afford his apartment, even as cheap as it was. Nick had told Judy as much, but she told him not to worry about it.

Easy for her to say. It’d been a month since he’d put in the application, and there was nothing but silence from the ZPD. And, he didn’t expect more than that. He told her; they just threw it out. But she seemed so adamant that hadn’t happened. Just wait she said. But, he was about to be between a rock and a hard, and cold place.

She shook her head. “C’mon Nick. Your application is on a recruiter’s desk, in a pile of other applications. I’ve seen the stacks, they suck. But they’ll get to it, trust me. And when they do, you’ll get a phone call to schedule your tests. Now, get down here and stretch.”

She muttered, as she stretched carefully.

Staring at the bunny, in her yoga pants, and sleeveless shirt, the fox regarded her carefully. She looked incredibly cute in that outfit. He shook his head, turning away as he sat down with a groan. He mirrored her stretch. Staring at her was rude. “I wish I had your confidence, Judy.”

Judy shook her head at the fox. “I’m confident that you’re going to get in, Nick. But, believe me, confidence has nothing to do with why I’m certain you’re going to get a phone call.”

Nick shook his head, as Judy shifted into another stretch. He followed suit, trying not to look at the rabbit’s form too much. It was one thing to make sure you were copying their form; it was another to admire her. And objectifying Judy was the last thing he wanted to do, even if he meant nothing by it. “How’s your field training officer treating you?” 

He muttered, changing the subject. Since being rehired, she was once again placed with an FTO to finish out the on-the-job training she’d started so many months ago. That is, after she found the missing mammals, and Bogo suddenly deemed her worthy of having on-the-job training. Wolfard was an interesting officer, according to what Judy had told him.

And, a hard ass. “It’s going okay. He’s tough, but extremely fair. And, he’s teaching me a whole lot of things. It’s a lot of information to digest. . . But, I think I’m doing all right.” She nodded, as she moved to the next pose. Nick followed suit, with a sigh. . .

“So. . . If I get in. . ..”

“When” She interrupted, raising a finger. He smiled at her, as she stretched deeply into a pose.

He shook his head at the bunny. “Okay, ‘when’. . . Are you going to be my field training officer?”

She let out a chuckle. “Maybe. It’d certainly make it easier for training. Wolfard can’t even go into some of the houses we are called to, so I end up on my own a lot.”

Nick nodded. “Are you going to be a hard-ass, too?”

“I won’t be soft on you, slick. That I promise.”

Nick chuckled, as Judy smiled softly. . . “Nick. . . Don’t worry about your application. They’re going to look at it, and you’re going to get a phone call. I guarantee it. . .”

* * *

_About a month ago. . ._

“Nick Wilde’s help was indispensable in the trial of Bellweather-“

“Yes, it was.” Judy interjected, sitting in Bogo’s office. The bull looked tired, as he rolled his eyes slightly at Judy’s comment. In her hands, she held the large application file against her chest. On it, the name Nicholas P. Wilde was written on the front in bold felt pen.

“Yes, he was. However, I do not have control over the recruiters. I cannot tell them who to hire, and who not to hire. And, I am sorry, but I do not think his application will make it through the process. His past-“

“Is the past, sir. . . He’s been in this life since he was twelve years old. . .” Judy interrupted again, making sure that was mentioned. It made her sad, to imagine twelve-year old Nick, trying to make a living on the street. 

Bogo sighed. “Yes. . . I will let this application enter the system, Officer Hopps. . . I don’t have any control over stopping it. . . You know that as much as I do.”

Finally, Bogo relented. The bunny had been pestering him for a few minutes, and she knew eventually he would cave. The moment she’d mentioned that Nick was submitting his application, Bogo had called her into his office to talk about it. And, the entire conversation was him trying to convince her that it was never going to happen.

However, Judy was way ahead of him. Eleven steps ahead, to be precise. She had her own plan for making this happen. And, thanks to Wolfard reminding her, she knew exactly what to do. “Thank you.”

“But. Do not be surprised when the application is turned down. Recruiters are looking for the best possible applicants. . .” Bogo warned her, as she hopped off the chair and started walking towards the door.

She turned her head as she walked and nodded to him. “That’s okay, sir. All Nick’s asking for is a chance.”

The rabbit walked out of the office and made her way back to the ground floor. Wolfard wasn’t back from the lunchroom yet, as she checked her watch. With a nod, she headed for the front desk in a calm, collected manner. This was it, the big play. If this didn’t work. . .

There, sat behind the desk, was Benjamin Clawhauser. The loveable Cheetah, the purest soul she’d ever met. He saw her coming, and instantly smiled as he turned in his chair.

“Hello, Judy! How are you today?” The cheery cat asked, as she walked up to the counter. Ben had been so happy when he’d been moved back to the front desk, and so had many of the people who came through the front doors.

He was friendly, sociable, and harmless. Exactly the kind of public relations you needed. “I’m doing good Ben, how are you?” 

Ben shrugged, smiling. “Good, good. . . Well, they’re still finding some of my stuff down in Records. . . The other day, they found a whole box of donuts I’d lost. They were a little dusty, but they held out really well.” He spoke in his upbeat tone. Judy did her best not to think about what he’d just said. . . Ew. . .

Judy hopped up on the chair beside him and put on a genuine smile. “That’s good to hear. . . Speaking of Records. . . You made a lot of friends down there, didn’t you?”

Ben nodded, as he looked away for a moment. “Oh yes, I did! They’re just a great group of mammals down there! They were all so friendly and welcoming! We’re even going to play some boardgames together next weekend.”

“Yeah. . . So. . .” She murmured, as she held the file out towards him. “I was wondering if, maybe, you might be willing to do me a favour?”

Ben looked at her, curious. “I’d love to, but, how can I help?” He lifted his pop bottle up, and began sucking the last few drops 

She smiled. “Well. . . I was wondering if you might, I don’t know, have a friend down in Records and Filing who might be able to make sure that. . . A ‘certain’ application, lands on a ‘certain’ recruiter’s desk?”

The cheetah paused, as he let the straw fall from his mouth. He took the file from her hands, and looked at the name scrawled across the front. “This sounds. . . Interesting. . . . . I know of someone who could probably do that, she works very closely with the people in applications. But. . . What’s in it for me?” Ben asked his voice turning up as he held the file to his chest, mischievously.

“How about the new Gazelle CD, and a dozen donuts?” She asked, barely able to react as the feline’s paw shot out and shook hers quickly.

“Deal! . . . But, I need to warn you, I’m sure that they can try. . . They do have access to that, but I don’t know how much they can change things. I don’t want to promise it’ll work.” He asked, looking at the rabbit curiously. That was all that she could hope for, wasn’t it? A chance.

“As long as they try, that’s all that matters. You’ll get your donuts.”

“Okay. . . Whose desk do you want it to land on?”

“Inspector Torrance Zredyote.”

* * *

_One month later. . . ‘present time’._

The old coyote closed another file and moved it over to the ‘Try again later’ pile with a grumble. They were all over his cubicle, covering it like an infectious disease. Stacks upon stacks of applications he had to pour over, every day, every week.

He was a police officer. Of several decades, to be exact. He was first a part of the military police, then he moved to regular policing and ended up a police chief in Podunk, and now, after over forty years, he was sitting at a table pouring over application’s written by complete children, compared to him.

He was tired. . . Every time he thought he could retire something would draw him back to this sphere. An assault. A police misconduct investigation. And, as much as he was a tired, angry old coyote who wanted to be a street cop again, he also knew that the best he could do for the ZPD was right here, reading these damnable things over and over again.

Someone needed to do the right thing. He thumbed the bridge between his eyes, disturbing the glasses he wore. He’d never needed reading glasses before this. Maybe it was age. Maybe it was the forceful wearing out of his eyes as he scoured these applications.

They called him ‘the’ hard-ass recruiter. He declined more applications than anyone else here, even some that a few thought was ‘fine’. He also took on the most applications, to even that out. He was the oldest recruiter on the force; he wasn’t going to sit on his ass while the young guns stole his job. Even if he’d been denied promotion several times for it.

He took another application off the top of the heap and read the name out loud to himself.

“Nicholas P. Wilde.” He grumbled through half-open lips. Yet another stack of some teenager’s desire to be the cops on television, no doubt. Probably liked the way ‘Officer Wilde’ sounded.

When you read numerous applications repeatedly, it helped to speak aloud to enforce your memory. Or, at least his waning memory. It was impossible to do it without that much. He may have poured over dozens of applications today, but, he remembered each one of their names.

Even the ones he didn’t want to. But, with a sigh, he shook his head again. It wasn’t going to read itself. He opened the file and looked at the first page. Usually, that first bit of info was all he needed to know how bad the application was going to be.

“Male. Fox. . . 32 years old? . . . Unmarried.” 

That was interesting. An older applicant. . . But, why?

“Savanah Square, Zootopia residence. Born and raised.”

He turned the page, and quickly glanced down the consent section. All declared and consented to with initials. He moved onto the first set of declaration questions and passed through them quickly. Questions about skipping class, of which there was nothing new there.

He turned another page, onto the employment section. Another boring one. There was never anythi-

Wait.

The coyote leaned in a bit, as if being closer would somehow change what he saw written on the page. Of course, it did not, as he scanned it through a few times.

“Huh.”

Approximately an hour later, the coyote stood up from his little cubicle, one of six, and stretched with a yawn. Then, with the file under his arm, he walked out of the cubicle, and headed for the place of Black Gold. Suddenly, the rest of the recruitment team popped their heads up, smiling as the coyote made his way over.

They always liked to ask what he was doing. . . Especially when he went so quiet.

“Find any good ones, Inspector? Or, any funny ones?” The nearest one asked, a wolf. The coyote nodded his head, as he approached the coffee maker. No one had made a new pot, unsurprisingly, so he went straight into the routine of changing the filter, filling the water from the nearby sink, and filling it.

These damn kids today, they didn’t understand a lick of responsibility, did they?

“Yeah, I found one. A Nicholas Wilde. . . An interesting mammal.” As he watched the coffee maker hum to life, he pulled the file out and looked in it one more time. He shook his head slightly. The wolf rolled his chair out of the cubical, looking at the coyote with a curious expression.

“Wait. That’s that fox, right? Isn’t he like, a criminal, as usual?” The wolf asked, cocking his head sidewise. It wasn’t new for the other recruiters to peek at each other’s files every once in awhile. And, they were always trying to ‘lighten’ his load anyway. They claimed he made them look bad, but in reality, it was Zredyote who had the waning hiring numbers. He didn’t hire lightly.

However, no one could take a file without permission from the assigned recruiting officer. And Zredyote never passed on an application.

The wolf was one of the more senior members of their recruitment team. However, Zredyote could’ve been his father, something that the old coyote was always quick to remind the people here. They may all be the same rank, but, he had way more experience in life than they could dream of. And, it was time for a lesson, he figured.

He walked over to the wolf and placed the open file on the wolf’s desk. He pointed a claw to the first page, sternly. In the file was a picture of the applicant, smiling in some cheesy department store photo room. “You see this _mammal_?” The coyote said, making his point clear with the mammal comment. Species didn’t fucking matter to him. It never did. And mammals talking like it did was disgusting.

There were a lot of mammals that thought a coyote couldn’t be a police officer because they were ‘shifty’. Yet here he was, still around, and still trying to do right by mammals. And he was tired of this ‘speciesist’ shit. The wolf nodded, as he looked at the coyote carefully. Same rank maybe, but the wolf had no balls at all. And he shouldn’t. “This mammal was working on the street from the time he was twelve years old. He went into crime, homelessness, and eventually fell into an organized crime group.”

The wolf just stared back, as the coyote continued his rant. “But, somehow, he managed to not murder anyone, or commit any act of violence, and got out of there. From there, with no diploma to fall on and no one to help him, he tried to survive. With nothing, he managed to scrounge out a living on the street without harming a soul, besides a few false tax forms. He’s had encounters with the law, with homeless people, and with criminals.” Zredyote was there when the computers came for them. And, he praised their existence, every day. It wasn’t hard to look up the police file on Nicholas P. Wilde, and the information that they had on him. . . Zero convictions, but a lot of stops.

Zredoyte had seen files like this before. And dealt with them time and time again. “He knows what it’s like to be on the other side of the badge, being questioned about what he’s doing. Being questioned why he’s breathing. He knows what it’s like when police step over their boundaries and judge people based upon what they were born as. And yet, in all that despair and grief, the moment a _single_ officer judges him to have more worth than fucking dirt, he helps them bring down a criminal mastermind that the _bozos_ we have now couldn’t find in weeks.”

At this point, the wolf’s ears were pinned back, and he was looking down a little sheepishly. “Give me this mammal as an officer over every one of the fresh-eyed high school graduates and college dropouts you keep approving. He has life experience, in so many places, that he can empathise with the people we interact with on a personal level, not just resorting to tranq dart guns and physical force. If I wanted people who only knew the police from fucking television, then I might as well not care about who I hire at all.”

He turned the application file to the very end, where a single slip of paper lay. “And when one of the best officers I’ve _ever_ hired writes him a recommendation letter, you’d better believe I am going to listen, and read it.” Sure, there was that bit of a scandal. . . But, there was learning in that.

At the bottom of the recommendation letter, the name was clear and legible. When their application hit his desk, he didn’t question them then. He certainly didn’t question them now.

_Constable Judith Hopps._

“But sir. . . I looked at the file, he committed tax fraud. . . The rules are he can’t be involved in criminal behaviour in the last year before the application?” The wolf question, as the coyote nodded his head.

“That’s true. However, the last ‘incorrect’ tax form he put in was over a year ago. . . Last month, he filed an ‘honest’ one. . . By my reckoning, that’s a year without an offence, isn’t it? Now, I’ve got some paperwork to do.” The coyote finished and picked up the file again. As he started out of the cubicle, the officer spoke up.

“Sorry.” The wolf said. Whether a genuine sorry or not, Zredyote wasn’t sure. But, as he looked at the wolf’s face, he couldn’t help but feel a little bad about his outburst. Even if that earlier fox comment was still going to go in a report. . .

He sighed. “Sometimes, people just need a chance, son. It’ll come to you in time, how to tell those that deserve it. . . From those that do not. And you need to learn that species means nothing, who they are is what matters.”

“Yes, sir.” The wolf nodded, as the coyote walked over to the finished coffee. He poured himself a cup and went back into his cubicle. He didn’t really want to get into an argument with his fellow recruiters, but prejudice was something he couldn’t stand. The rest of them had remained quiet and gone back to their files as soon as the coyote had marched off. Like the cowards they were.

If it wasn’t for the officer who took a chance on him, he’d never have gotten to where he was. He’d never have the chance to try and make difference.

Nor would Judith Hopps, saviour of the city. Or Officer Wolfard, one of their best patrol officers of all time. A damn good officer.

He threw the file back on the desk, as he drank the black hot liquid with what was the closes thing to delight, he had. He sat down with a grunt and scooted himself up to the table.

He flicked the file back open to the first page and took anther deep sip of coffee.

Then, he reached over, and dragged the phone closer to the paper.

“555-421-. . .” He mumbled, as he typed the number into the phone pad.

It rang twice, before it crackled as someone answered the call.

“Hello, is this Mr. Nicholas Wilde? . . . . . Ah, good. My name is Inspector Torrance Zredyote. . . I’m the recruiter assigned to your file.”

* * *

_One week later. . ._

Nick straightened his tie, as he sat outside in the hall. Waiting. Nervously tapping his foot.

He nailed the written test, like it was nothing. Nick didn’t know what the final score was, but the test proctor said that it was one of the better ones he’d ever seen. It was good to know that the fox’s hard work had actually paid off. Not to say the rabbit didn’t force him to do that hard work, though. . .

The test was a little bit of math, a little bit of writing and English, and a whole bunch of memory related questions. The rabbit spent days drilling him over the last two months, over and over. She had practice sheets, mental training techniques, and a whole bunch of stuff he didn’t understand.

Thanks to her, he wasn’t afraid when he’d walked into that test. She gave him the thumbs up as he went in, and he slayed it exactly like she’d trained him to do.

And, to be honest, he wasn’t even that concerned about the physical training tests to come up. That rabbit had run him ragged, and he was certain he’d nail at least the targets he needed to. The polygraph. . . Well, it made him nervous. But, that was just telling the truth. So long as he told the truth, he didn’t have anything to worry about.

Psychological assessment, that wasn’t something you could prepare for. And despite his age, his medical examination was likely going to go off without a hitch. He was in good shape, he walked a lot in his life. And, he’d managed to avoid destroying his body with drugs, alcohol, and body-taxing hobbies like ‘sports’.

However. . . This part. This part was the scariest part. And the one that had him dreading every single officer who walked past him in the hall. He only knew the Inspector’s voice, and any one of these people could be him. . .

The interview stage. . . One of two, actually. The first interview, with your recruiter, was the start of the nightmare. It was here they talked to you about your past and checked to see if you fit the values of the police force. Then, there was the panel interview, where you would face several interviewing officers. . .

He didn’t think about that one. This was terrifying enough, let alone three of them. . .

Nick could just leave. . . Dip right out, never come back. Carrots would hate him so much, though. . .

“Mr. Wilde?” A voice called out, the fox jerking his head toward the sound. It originated from a male coyote, dressed in the uniform of a patrol officer. That seemed. . . Odd. But, Nick was still glad he’d dressed up for the part.

Instinctively, his hands went to straighten his tie, as he swallowed nervously. “Hello, Inspector sir. Yes, I’m Nick Wilde.” He stood abruptly and nodded to the older canid. 

The coyote looked him up and down, what looked like a permanent frown plastered on his face. “It’s Inspector. Or sir. Not both. Or, officer is also acceptable. I am Inspector Torrance Zredyote, the one assigned to your file. . . Come with me.” He muttered, as he turned and headed down the hall. He held a file in his hand, undoubtably Nick’s, as he quickly followed behind him.

Of course, he’d mess that up. . . Geez, why was Carrots so excited to know he was Nick’s recruiter? This coyote seemed like a real hard-ass. . .

The coyote walked to a door, labeled Interview Room 4-S, and held the door open for the fox. “Thank you, sir.” He quickly added, as she slipped through the door.

At first, he thought it was the same as the other interview room he was in. However, this had more comfortable chairs. . . And the walls had wallpaper. The ground had rug. This. . . This was a different kind of interview room.

The coyote walked past him, as he looked around the room. The officer threw the file on the table, and gestured to the other chair as he took a seat at the table.

Nick quickly took the chair and sat as straight and proper as he possibly could. The coyote wasted no time, as he opened the file and started to speak. “So, Wilde. . . This is how this normally goes. We talk about your history. We talk about why you think you are a good fit for a police officer. We talk about other details, yada-yada, the regular script. But, I’ve got some questions before we start that. I’ve been a police officer a long time, and I do things my way. . . Understood?”

Nick nodded along, avoiding the strong desire to quip back at him. As if Nick would even know how this was supposed to go normally. Officer Zredyote could start asking about his sexual partners (which he knew were kind of on the file, weirdly), and he would’ve never known different.

Still. . . If Zredyote was going to go off the rails. . . Why didn’t Judy warn him? She could’ve told him something, right? In fact, she was incredibly evasive when he asked what to expect during the interview. . . She was just so excited that he was being interviewed by the coyote. . . For some reason.

“Good. . . So, how do you know Officer Judy Hopps?” The coyote asked, as he slowly turned the pages of Nick’s file. The officer pulled out a pair of glasses and placed them on his nose. Nick was suddenly very unsure of everything in that file. . .

“Well, we met when she was working on the Nighthowler case. She approached me to help her find the culprit, due my conn- Er, the connections I had at the time. . . She’s also the one who convinced me to apply. . . I guess we’re friends, now?” Nick spoke, more nervous than he’d wanted to.

He could talk the talk with anyone, anytime, anywhere. But, not here. This. . . This mattered, and he was nervous. The coyote looked up from his paper. “You think?” He spoke, harsly.

“Yeah. I mean, I haven’t asked, but. . . Yeah, we’re friends.” Nick said, nodding confidently. Which, was a farce. What the fuck was that rabbit to him? Not that he didn’t want her around, or anything, just. . . God, his life had gotten so damn weird lately.

The coyote shook his head slightly, as he closed the folder. “Alright then. . . . Well, to start, I have a hypothetical situation question for you. . .”

Nick nodded. He was familiar with these. It was a test of who you were, right? What you would say to a given situation? Judy had told him they would appear a lot in the second interview, not now. But, maybe that was why this officer was different.

“Say you are driving with your superior officer, your field training officer maybe. . . And he makes a speciesist comment. For instance, ‘All lemmings are brainless’, or worse. . . Maybe even all foxes are shifty. . . What would you do?” The coyote asked, gesturing with an open hand.

Nick’s brows fell. . . He couldn’t hesitate, he knew, but that seemed. . . “I would tell them that I do not approve of what they’re saying. . . And that they shouldn’t say stereotypical things about, other mammals?” He spoke, cautiously watching the coyote’s expression.

It didn’t change, as he pulled out a notepad and began writing silently. At first, Nick was wondering if he’d fucked up. That was the right answer, right? Should he have been more forceful, or less? Wait, specifically his superior? “Alright, next question then. . . You are responding to a call, and one of the people you are interacting with is arguing with your partner. You know that your partner is prejudiced against the species of the person, and after a short time, your partner grabs them, and arrests them without giving a reason. The person struggles, and your partner takes them to the ground. What do you do?”

Holy fuck, that was escalating quickly. Nick looked down at the table for a second, as he tried to think about what Carrots might’ve told him about this. . . Looking up at the coyote, he realized that waiting would probably make him look bad. . . Just like it would in the situation. . .

“Um. . . I would. . . Arrest them?” Nick answered, nervously. Nick didn’t know everything about police procedure, not even a little bit. But he did know from his time on the street that, if a police officer arrested a mammal without reasonable belief they committed a crime. . . Then the officer was committing the crime of assault just by touching them.

The coyote’s brows raised, even so slightly. “You would _what_?” He asked, looking at the fox with a curious expression.

Nick cleared his throat. “I would arrest them, sir. If a police officer doesn’t have reasonable grounds to believe that the person is committing an offence, then they are abusing their power and committing an offence. . . Likely, at least assault, sir. I’m not an expert on laws relating to the police though, so. . .”

The coyote snorted. “You’d arrest them. . . Even knowing that it would vilify you to every policemammal on the force?”

Nick paused, as he thought about it. But, did he really need to think about it? The right answer, was always the answer, right? “Yes, I would.” At least, that was his moral choice.

The coyote shook his head. “You’re going to speak up to your field training officer when they say speciesist things. You’re going to get written up. Poor performance. Not doing as expected. And they are going to get you fired for it.” The canid muttered with a sigh.

Nick sat there, as he looked at the officer standing in front of him. Was he suggesting that. . . Standing up for his morals was going to stop him from being a police officer? How did that make any sense? Wasn’t one of their values integrity, or something?

Zredyote took advantage of the silence and continued. “Are you sure you’re going to do that, and not just sit silent, let it pass, accept that you can’t do anything about it? Tell yourself that when you’re on the street alone, you’ll be different, and you’ll stand for the right things?”

“. . . Being silent doesn’t change anything, sir.” Nick responded, shaking his head. “If I don’t stand for my morals then, what does it matter if I tell myself I’ll stand for them later?” That was the right response. . . Not that it was a question with right answers, that was the answer he believed was morally right.

The coyote shook his head again. “You’re going to arrest a fellow officer, get fired. You’re going to stand up for what you believe in, in anti-speciesism, and you’re going to get fired. Wouldn’t it be easier to just let it slide, and continue trying to make the world a better place by yourself?”

Nick’s brows narrowed. He spent a lot of years, being watched by police officer because he was a ‘shifty fox’. Even when he wasn’t doing anything. Even when he’d never done anything wrong. Okay, maybe he did do things wrong, but, that wasn’t the point.

It was him, and every other fox. And many other species out there. His mother was judged as shifty, and she was the sweetest, nicest fox in the entire world. And they judged her for it. He wanted to become a police officer to change that. He wanted to do it to be on the right side for once, with Carrots.

But was this what it meant to be a police officer? If it was. . . “If that’s the case, why would I bother becoming a police officer at all?” The fox said, as he felt the anger building inside him. The anger, the memories, of all the times that he’d been judged for what he was, rather than who he was.

He felt the urge of tears but killed it as he shook is head. “If becoming a police officer means I have to sit around, and allow that kind of shit to happen, then I don’t want to be one. I’m sorry for wasting your time, _sir_.” The fox growled, as he stood up suddenly. Fuck it all. He didn’t want to be a part of this. He was sorry, Carrots, but he wanted to do the right thing.

The coyote regarded him coolly and spoke sternly. **”Sit. Down.”** Nick froze at the sound, as he looked at the canid’s face. It wasn’t angry. . . Or happy. “We’re not done yet.” He continued, as he opened the application file again.

Nick wanted to march out. But. . . At the same time. . . He felt strange. The look the coyote was giving him was strange. Something was up here. And, Nick found himself sitting back down quietly, as he watched the coyote carefully.

“Good. . . I have made mistakes in my time as an officer. I’ve been speciesist, and I’ve sat by while others did it to decent mammals. . . That’s why I’m here in recruiting, rather than out in the field. . . I need mammals who know where the line is, and what to do when someone crosses it, because I failed in that. In all my years in recruiting, not a single officer I’ve hired has failed me. . . Minus, Officer Hopps little newsworthy moment. . .” He muttered, shaking his head for a moment.

“But. . . Given her heartfelt resignation, she didn’t truly fail me there, either. I need officers who will hold the mammals around them accountable, as well as themselves. . . Every mammal who has answered that question correctly has become an officer. And, if you’ve got the heart to hold onto your values, enough to walk out that door on me. . .” The coyote spoke, gesturing towards the door.

“Then my name is Officer Torrance. . . I am the recruiter who is _going_ to get you hired. . . Now, shall we talk about your ‘history’, Mr. Wilde?”

* * *

As with most days, they were driving around in silence, for the most part. Not that there was any animosity between them, or any arguments. No, in fact, her and Wolfard got along very well. But, in the early mornings, it always took awhile for the coffee to kick in.

Until it did, their conversations would be brief. Which, she figured, they were both glad on. Him, while his coffee finished kicking in. Judy, while she thought about what Nick might be going through at that very moment.

His interview with the inspector was today. She remembered the day she walked into the room herself, and now nervous she’d been. As confident as she was on a normal day, it was always a bit unnerving to walk into an interview, especially when it was her dream job that she was doing it for.

And then, the Inspector ‘went off’ of what she’d expected and asked her those deadpan questions right at the start. If she hadn’t gone to college before she applied. . . he’d never have know what the right response was.

Part of her felt bad for not warning Nick. But, at the same time, Nick needed to face those questions honestly. And freely.

And, knowing the fox. . . He’d probably do just fine. Even if he needed to go and calm down somewhere after it was done. The inspector was harsh.

She couldn’t wait until it was her break, and she could check in with him, and know how it went. Surely he’d be fine, right? Judging what Wolfard had said about Inspector Torrance in general. . . If anyone got to the interview phase with him, they were nearly guaranteed that they would get in.

In her short time on the force before, she hadn’t had the opportunity to interact with the Inspector, nor had she had any time since she got assigned a field training officer.

Which was a welcome change. In the short time between the news conference, and when she resigned, she’d been passed back and forth by some of the other field training officers, as the were all shuffled around trying to deal with the protests happening in the city.

She didn’t want to think about back then. . . But, when she got back, she was nearly immediately assigned to Wolfard. A strange mammal, by all accounts. 

At least he seemed to have a good head on his shoulders. And, had taught her a lot in the last few months. Things that she’d have to remember, if she ever got assigned as Nick’s FTO. That would be so fun, being able to order the fox around. . . And, just, you know, hang out with him during the day.

He was an interesting fox, and they were good friends by this point. Hanging out with him would be a great day, no matter what happened.

And, she kind of owed it to him now. First, she said all those terrible things, that hurt him so much. But, to top it off, he was more or less unemployed now because of her, and running out of money quickly.

Most applications took awhile. Sometimes several months, to a year. But, If he didn’t get hired in the next few months, and start getting paid, he’d be out of a home. She didn’t quite know what to do if that happened. . . she’d feel very bad about that. And she didn’t have a lot of ways that she could support the fox if that came to pass.

Her place wasn’t exactly big enough for one bunny, let alone a fox as well. And, she was pretty sure that would violate her lease, so, it really wasn’t an option. . . Maybe he could move back in with his mother? He did mention her way back then. . . Were they still-

“Wilde has his interview today, doesn’t he? With the Inspector?” The wolf asked, as the coffee slowly began to rouse him. As per usual, of course.

Judy nodded, smiling. “Yeah, he should be in there right about now, if I’m not mistaken. . . Thanks for. . . suggesting the Inspector to me. . . without you, I don’t think anyone would read his file. . . I hope he does well.”

The wolf glanced at the rabbit, as he slowly turned the car towards the curb. As he parked the cruiser, he shrugged. “Don’t mention it. Every one deserves a second chance. . . Or a first chance, for some of us. . . Dredyote doesn’t waste his time. If he agreed to have an interview with Wilde, then I am sure he’s seen something in your friend. If he manages to survive the interview, and these next few months, he’ll make a good officer. . . C’mon, we’re going to walk the beat today.”

Judy’s brows narrowed, as the wolf unbuckled and popped open his door. They were assigned to drive around Sahara Square, on patrol. Not walk. “Aren’t we supposed to stay in the car?” She asked, as she unbuckled herself and opened her own door. She was asking, but, she knew full well that this was what they were doing today.

She didn’t question it in a bad way. Judy just wanted to know why as she stepped out of the car. Wolfard closed the door behind him and waited for the wolf as he walked around the car. “Well, I was always taught that the police were a part of the community. And, you can’t really interact with your community, driving around in an office on wheels. The first officers did it by walking around, there’s no reason we can’t either.” He said with a shrug, as he clicked the lock on the police cruiser.

“The car’ll be here, should we get a call on our radios. But, until then, we’re going to enjoy the day for once. C’mon, let’s go meet and greet the mammals of this city, together.” The wolf continued, with a smile.

Judy smiled back, as she followed the wolf down the sidewalk. Interacting with the community, on a nice, sunny day in Sahara Square. That was the kind of policing she could get behind.

* * *

The wolf walked down the sidewalk smiling at all the people they passed. Saying hello. Having brief, good conversations with the mammals of the city that he was a part of.

With the rabbit he was assigned to, following quietly behind him. He glanced back at the bunny, who was happily bounding down the sidewalk, interacting with the community with a big smile on her face.

A genuine smile. She liked doing this, didn’t she? Going through the park, interacting with everyone. Being a part of her community.

He remembered back a month ago when she was rehired by the police force. He’d barely noticed her at the department when she first started. He wasn’t in the room when Bogo assigned her to parking duty, a job that she never should have gotten.

And yet, here she was, hopping along with that smile stuck on her face.

He recalled when the old coyote approached him when she was rehired. . . And he remembered what he had been told, when they were there in the breakroom.

_“Constable Judith Hopps. . . I want you to volunteer to be her Field Training Officer. . . Can you do that for me, Sergeant Wolfard?”_

Several years ago, he sat in that interview room with the coyote. . . And listened what the coyote had said, when they went over his file. His past. His future. Who the wolf was.

He narrowed his eyes. _Yes, sir. Yes I can._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>   
> One of the biggest issues in modern policing is that of the Field Training Officer. Academy recruits go through months of training, and many attempts to instill them with positive attitudes towards race, and the ability to think critically and ethically.
> 
> And then they get in a car with an older officer, who has been there for years, who was trained by other older officers, and so on and so on. The first thing out of those FTO's mouth is usually something along the lines of 'Right, you know what you learned in the academy? Well, forget that, because _this_ is how the world really works'. This doesn't always happen. There are officers out there, who do have integrity and morals. But. . . When you're surrounded by it and used to just letting it slide. . . It's hard to stand against your fellow officers. Your fellow family.
> 
> You can't fight systemic racism by changing just the training. Humans are social animals. We talk. We learn from one another. And if you put a person with even 'mildly' racist views in a position of learning, and education to a person. . . Is it any wonder that even the best officers' morals are eroded over time?
> 
> How do we fix this? Stop tolerating it, at all levels. And, if it is necessary. . . Start over.
> 
> In the next chapter, I plan to finish Nick's application phase. And, then, it is on to the academy. . . 'You'll be dead, bunny bumpkin'.


	3. A Move in any Direction

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _“Anti-racism isn’t about why, it’s about WHY NOT. Why is so much of our anti-racism ‘political’? Why not marry casual racism if you love it so much. In fact, why not invent a special casually racist door that won’t hit you on the butt on the way out, because YOU are fired!_  
>  Not you, anti-racist reader, you’re doing fine.  
>  _YES. YOU. Box. Your stuff. Out the front door. Parking Lot. Car. Goodbye.”_  
>  -Furry Johnson
> 
> Why am I still making these Portal 2 #BlackLivesMatter and #Pride and #Trans Rights related forewords? Well, I'm trying to encourage any of those weird #ALM and other weird people to get out of here. This fic is for the good people. My wonderful progressive furries and adjacent-furries out there.
> 
> 2nd Peelian Principle: To recognise always that the power of the police to fulfill their functions and duties is dependent on public approval of their existence, actions and behaviour, and on their ability to secure and maintain public respect.
> 
> . . . This shouldn't need explanation. . . But, Dear Police across the world. You have some 'recognizing' to do. Your power comes FROM the people, and should never be used at the EXPENSE of the people. ALL the people. I got into a texting row with my parents about this issue. . . They pulled that typical, 'We're older than you and wiser' shit, the whole Saruman 'You have no power here' baloney.
> 
> Then I threw off my cloak and unfurled my 2-year Dean's list diploma in Ethical Criminal Justice as my 'New and Improved Gandalf' impression. Go Sir Ian McKellen, that gay god.
> 
> In this chapter, Nick continues his journey, as both he and Judy interact more, and become good friends. And, we move steadily towards Nick being yelled at by a polar bear.
> 
> Disney owns everything here. Including the smutty bits. Yes. I'm pinning the erotica on you now Disney. You now have an Erotica branch. Can I talk to you about raising the budget?

“Gha. . . Ngh.” The fox struggled to breath, as he reached the end of the pylons again. He knew he didn’t have any time to waste, so he pivoted and-

_Beep. 11-2._

He ran back, across the gym towards the other set of pylons. He’d made it past the ‘target’ by a few levels by now. All the others had stopped by now. He could have stopped. . . But, no, he couldn’t. Even as he tasted that disgusting, coppery taste of blood in his mouth.

“C’mon, you can do it Nick! Keep going!” Judy yelled from the sidelines, cheering with all her heart the entire time he was running. And, when he ran the obstacle course. That was why he couldn’t give up. If she was still cheering, and he was still breathing, then he’d keep running. Kind of.

“Let’s go, Wilde!” The coyote shouted, with a slow clap. There was also the Inspector, he guessed. . . But, no, he was running for Judy. Only for her.

But mammal, was it going to kill him. He arrived at the end and turned quickly.

_Beep. 11-3._

“Aaahggh.” He grumbled, as he struggled to take in enough oxygen. But, at the same time, that was drying out his mouth, which was making it harder to breath, which. . . This sucked. The bloody taste was not actually blood, Judy had assured him. It was just caused by your lungs overfilling with carbon dioxide, and a few other things he didn’t understand or listen to.

As far as he was concerned, that was just as bad. 

_Beep. 11-4._

He barely hit the line, as the sound played. The cruel, evil beeping monster continued. “Hurry, Nick!” Judy shouted, trying to be encouraging. But, to Nick, he felt more like he was being tortured, and she was driving it on. He was the last potential recruit on the filed, with the other five having given up shortly after they hit the pass mark. 

But Nick had something to prove. To himself, and, to Judy. And Inspector Zredyote. . .

Nick picked up the pace, but he knew it was all going to be over. He ran, as fast as he could, and just barely reached the line when the sound repeated.

_Beep. 11-5_

He made it. But, as he jogged past the line, he knew that he was done. He panted heavily, as he slowed to a brisk walk, and turned in a random direction in the gym. “Ahh. . . Ahh. . . I’m done.” He confirmed to the officer holding the clipboard, as if it was not patently obvious. In the din of pain that filled his head, he could hear the clapping and cheers from the sidelines.

Most of the recruiters, with their own applicants, were encouraging them all to cheer for each other, and support one another. It was supposed to encourage camaraderie, and that it would be important for the recruiters to see that they knew how to ‘play nice’ together.

But no one could really cheer when they couldn’t breath. Nick laughed, painfully, as he wandered around the gym like an aimless fool.

“Alright everyone, good job today. For everyone that passed both the obstacle course, and the shuttle run, check with your recruiter before you leave about the next step. For those that didn’t, we will be running these tests again next week. . . Although, some of you may want to try next month. . . Thank you all for coming.” The test supervisor called out, as all the applicants did the same, tired shuffled over to their recruiters.

Some of the recruiters looked angry, Nick noted as he made some slow walk circles, trying to catch his breath. Was it because their guy didn’t make it? Or, was it because a fox outpaced them all? He didn’t know, and now, it didn’t matter.

What mattered was keeping moving. He was warned by Judy that, if he suddenly stopped moving afterwards, there was a high chance he might throw up. Or, pass out.

He thought she was kidding at first, but now. . . Yeah, he could feel it. Keep moving. He held his chest, as he calmed his breathing as best he could. It was working, as his tongue lolled out of his mouth. Sure, he looked ridiculous. But if he didn’t pant, he was going to die.

After a few more moments of panting and breathing, he felt better. And, from the corner of his eye on one rotation, he saw both Judy and Inspector Zredyote walking towards him. He stopped his rotations and began walking towards the bunny with intent when he saw what she was holding.

Yes. . . The elixir of life. The rabbit smirked, as she offered up the water bottle with a sassy flop of her ears. That rabbit, so much damn moxie in so little of a form. It was absolutely adorable. “Here you go, tongue-boy. You did great.”

“Ha, ha.” the fox groaned out, as he took the water bottle from Judy’s paws. He wasted no time popping the top off, as he took a deep drink from the blessed chalice of plastic. The water was so refreshing, as he swallowed it eagerly.

The old coyote crossed his arms and nodded. “Yes, you did well, Nick. I’m impressed.” He spoke, in his regular deadpan voice. You could tell he was somewhat happier than normal, but he guessed that was the standard with him. Ta much as you could hope, at least. “Go home and relax, Wilde. I’ll see about scheduling your medical and your psych exam, and I’ll send you an email with the dates.”

All business, like he always was. He wondered how it was for Judy, standing on the sidelines with him. She’d been pretty nervous about seeing the Inspector again, as she hadn’t talked to him since her own application.

Judy had been concerned, maybe he wouldn’t remember her. Of course, Nick had to remind her that she was literally the only rabbit in the police service, and, the coyote certainly remembered her in his interview.

That made her even more nervous, but, hey, she didn’t have to come cheer him on, if that was the case. He was pretty sure the punch that came from that comment could be considered police violence, but she was too c-, Adorable, for that. Besides, she mocked that it was really him who wanted her there in the first place. Not wrong, but still.

The coyote reached out, and patted Nick gently on the back as he continued guzzling the water down. Nick nodded, despite not at all wanting to go home right now. That place was still so depressing. He swallowed hard and took in a deep breath as he continued to pant slightly. At least his tongue was mostly in his mouth now. . . “Yes, sir. Thank you, sir.” Nick responded between pants.

The inspector nodded. “Good. We will be in touch. Hopps, it was nice to talk to you again. Tell Wolfard I said hi.” Zredyote added, turning to the rabbit. She jumped slightly, as he turned his attention to the little bunny. Nick let out a soft snort, shaking his head.

“Yes, sir. It was great to talk to you, too, sir!” She added, as she stood at attention. Did she know how she looked to Nick? Like, seriously. He couldn’t help but smile at her antics, at every single thing she did.

The coyote nodded, and suddenly smiled. Nick’s ear twitched, amazed to see that it was even possible. He’d never seen it, at least. The rabbit’s tail twitched, as she straightened her back even ‘harder’. Jeez, how could he handle this? “Well, I’m heading back to file paperwork now. I’m sure you two can find your way out?” 

Nick nodded between pants, as he slowly began to breath normally again. At least, nearly normal. His tongue was still flapping at the end of his mouth, but that was acceptable. “Yes, sir!” Judy chimed in, as the coyote turned and began walking toward the exit.

Around them, the other recruiters were still talking to their applicants as they lead them out of the gym, while the tester began the laborious task of putting away some of the equipment. One of the recruiters, a wolf, sounded disappointed with their applicant, as they made their way out the exit.

Nick frowned, shaking his head. Were these people really that upset over losing to a fox? Why did it even matter? Was there some competition between the recruiters about who had the best applicant, or something?

Zredyote didn’t seem like the kind of mammal to play that sort of a game. . . But Nick supposed he won this time, if that really was a thing. It seemed silly-

The rabbit reached up and wiped her paw on his chin. Nick looked at the rabbit, surprised, as she shook her hand with a disgusted look. “You’re starting to drool all over the floor. Close your mouth, slick.” She teased, as she shook her head and turned toward the door.

Nick frowned and clamped his jaw with a sharp clack. He instantly wanted to open it again, but he wasn’t going to let the rabbit get the best of him. “Alright Carrots. But next time, I’m going to drool on your face instead of the floor. Would you prefer that?” He joked, as he followed behind her with his typical, childish gait.

She looked back at him with an unimpressed smirk, before shaking her head and continuing towards the door. It was one of Judy’s days off today, by random happenstance. So, instead of wearing her police outfit, she was wearing some light blue shirt, and a set of yoga pants.

Nick had to admit, it fit her well, as she bounded her way towards the door. But he could say that about a lot of things he’d seen her wear. He was starting to think she could pull off wearing anything, unlike the poor fox himself.

Looking down at himself, he shook his head lightly. Fucking shorts, again. . . They sucked so bad. He took another glance around the room, and caught sight of the testing officer, working on moving the set of stairs back away. It looked pretty big, even for the Jaguar. . .

“Hold on, Carrots. I’m gonna give her a hand putting everything away.” He muttered, as he abruptly turned and started walking her way. He heard Judy turn behind him and follow closely behind. Typical Judy.

“Good idea. . . Then, we can go get something to eat.” She agreed with a nod, as they walked up to the large cat.

“Can we help you, put some equipment away?” He asked cautiously, as the jaguar looked up at the two of them. She seemed mildly surprised. It probably wasn’t very often that mammals offered to help.

She shrugged, as she began to roll the stairs towards the open storage room. “Sure. . . You can start with grabbing the pylons, and the mats. . . Here, I’ll show you where they go.”

* * *

When Nick said he knew a good place, Judy didn’t question him. He’d lived his whole life here, he had to have known the best restaurants by now, right? You live in a place long enough, you knew where to go to get the best for anything. That was how she knew the best restaurant in Bunnyburrow was Elmer & Bugs.

However, when they’d pulled up to the little diner, in the shadow of the overpass, Judy suddenly wasn’t so sure. Not that anything looked very wrong with the building. It seemed to be at least decently taken care of. But it didn’t exactly look. . . Well, it looked like a complete dive.

Renaud’s Kitchen, the large lighted sign said above the front door. The exterior itself was very Art Deco, making Judy wonder if it was constructed that way originally, or if it was some ‘retro’ thing they were trying.

Not that it mattered, she was willing to give it an earnest shot as they walked up to the door. After all, they did walk all the way there, anyway. . .

The moment Nick had walked through the door, all the waitresses recognized him, and greeted him kindly. The cook, a peppy female skunk named Annette, had slipped out of the back to say hello as well. Clearly, he’d been here a lot over the years. . .

Nick introduced Judy to them and gave them a short story about how they became friends because she’d out-swindled him. A true story, and one she greatly approved of. It was the truth, after all.

To her surprise, the diner was busy. There were only a few empty tables, and the one of the waitresses, a vixen, quickly ushered them into a nearby booth. And, as she looked around the diner again, she once again got slightly concerned about the food they were going to be served.

She shook her head lightly, realizing she was being judgemental about a place she’d never been before. The staff was nice, and it was clear that Nick came here, a lot. On those things alone, the place deserved a shot.

Nick had ordered a cricket and soybean burger and fries, and she ordered the roasted carrot and bok choy dish. It seemed like it would be tasty, and Nick had told her it was a good choice after she’d mentioned it.

“Thanks, Delilah.” The fox spoke, nodding to the waitress as they passed back their menus. The vixen smiled back at him, glancing between him and the rabbit.

“Not a problem, Nicky. You two’s food’ll be out right quick. It’s nice to meet you, Ms. Judy.” She said with a wink, before she turned and walked back to the kitchen window with their order. Judy wondered if there wasn’t maybe a bit of a past between her and Nick. . . But that wasn’t very relevant, was it? He was a male in his thirties, his business was his business.

“Yeah, this place has been run by Annette for. . . Wow, it has to be a few decades now. . . It was named for her ex-husband, back when they were still together. . . Don’t bring him up around Annette, though. She kicked his ass to the curb a long time ago and hates it when people bring him up. Makes me wonder why she didn’t change the name. . . Everyone asks who Renaud is.” He talked, as he relaxed into the soft booth seat across from the rabbit.

She smirked and shrugged. “I don’t know. It does seem odd to-“

“Hey Nick!” the familiar skunk’s voice called through the kitchen window. She turned, to see the woman leaning out with an angry glare, waving a ladle in their direction. “You’d better not be talkin’ bout my good for nothing, cheatin’, lyin’ ass motherfucker of a husband, yah hear?! Not in my establishment! You wanna talk about him, you can take your ass out the fucking door!”

Nick raised his paws, apologetically. “Sorry, Annette, my bad. . . Won’t happen again.” He murmured, ears folding back as he put on the most earnest face Judy had ever seen. She would’ve believed it if she was a fool. Unfortunately for Nick, she’d seen it before. . .

The skunk shook the ladle again, cocking her head to the side. “You’d better. I’ll whoop your tail; don’t think I wont.” She growled, before she turned back into the kitchen and disappeared. Judy rolled her eyes and turned back to see the fox leaning across the table, with a paw hiding half of his muzzle.

 _“Sad part is. . . Not a single thing she just called him was a lie. The mammal was incorrigible.”_ The fox whispered to her, grinning widely. Judy had a feeling that if he ever told Nick a secret, she could count on it to remain that way for about thirty seconds. Or, however long it took for him to get close to someone else.

Still. . . A cheater, a liar, good for nothing, and a motherfucker? She had to admit, the story related to that had to be interesting. But she could wait until they left, she needed to change the subject. “So. . . is this one of those places where, a cop shouldn’t look too close?” She asked, raising an eyebrow.

Nick leaned back, holding a paw to his chest as he feigned being insulted. “How dare you. . . Not every place I like must be involved in criminal dealings, you know. But, no. This place isn’t involved in anything other than making good food, if that’s what you’re concerned about. That’s why it’s perfect. The only time cops come in here is during their lunch breaks, and they’re more concerned about getting fed than paying attention. It’s easy to avoid the police when you hang out at their lunch spots”

She rolled her eyes at the fox. “Are you feeling better now? Not dying inside?” Judy asked, smirking at the fox. She couldn’t really say she’d felt better when she finished her attempt either. It was hard, after all.

Nick smiled back, as he rested his elbows on the counter. “Well, I’d have been better if we didn’t have to walk here. Sitting down was probably the worse idea, though. . . My legs feel like jello now. . . You might have to carry me home, Carrots.” 

“Good luck with that, Slick.” She muttered, shaking her head at him. Considering they’d take a train most of the way here, he was being such a whiny kit. If it came to that, she’d drag him by his tail long before she’d bother picking the fox up. He’d probably remember how to walk before they’d gone more than five metres.

If they could go an inch. “Here you go, a glass of OJ, and green tea for the rabbit. Your food is just about done.” Delilah spoke, coming out of nowhere with their drink order. The vixen placed the two glasses down and smiled between the two. “So. . . Are you t-, Oh, I’ll be right there, sir!” 

“Thanks.” Judy added, as the vixen moved away. “You did really good today, Nick. Your training is really paying off.”

Nick smiled, as he took a sip of his juice. Then, he shook his head. “Yeah, I’m starting to feel a lot fitter, I think. If this keeps up, I’m gonna have to beat the females off with a stick. . . . Thanks, for pushing me so much. . . Even if you’re a cruel bunny.”

Judy rolled her eyes, hard. As if the fox could’ve had trouble with women before. Even as a bunny, she could tell he was a decent looking fox. Sure, he was a bit of an asshole. But he also had a heart of gold somewhere down there, and the slightest streak of morality. Honestly, Judy was surprised he hadn’t gotten hitched a long time ago.

Especially with the looks that vixen seemed to be giving him. She wasn’t sure, but the vixen seemed to pay a lot of attention to them, and especially the fox. “You come here a lot, don’t you?” She asked, innocently hiding her line of thought. For now.

Nick shrugged. “Yeah, every once in awhile at least. When your kitchen is mostly a microwave and a hotplate, you kind of eat out a lot.” 

Judy laughed, imagining how Nick’s apartment might have looked. He’d talked about it being small a few times, but Judy wondered if he was just being dramatic. Every time he talked about it, be made it seem like it was built for a species one size too small for him. Which, might have been true. . . 

However, she had another question in mind right now. . . “Is it the food that has you coming back so much, or, the people?” She continued her line of inquiry, as she leaned forward and rested her head on her paws.

Nick shrugged. “I like the food. And, Annette is great fun, when she’s not threatening to kick my rump. It’s a good enough place, I think. Why? You don’t like it?”

Judy shook her head. “No, it seems pretty nice. We’ll see about the food, thought. . . What about Delilah? She seems pretty nice.”

Nicks head tilted, as he narrowed his eyes at her for a moment. Suddenly, Judy wondered if she’d hit something, she shouldn’t have. . . Did they break up? Unrequited love? But then his face relaxed back into a smile. “She’s funny, when she wants to be, at least. Other times, she’s a real pain in the ass. Sometimes I hate my aunt for cursing the world with her presence, but, that’s family for you. She’s doing well in University, I hear.”

 _Oof_. Judy internally winced, suddenly feeling very disgusted with her thoughts. She kind of earned that, didn’t she? No wonder the vixen was friendly, they were family. She needed to get out of this quickly. “I see. . . So, do you think you’ll have enough money for rent? Until you get hired?” Judy asked, taking a hard right turn out of that.

Did he know what she was inferring. . . She couldn’t really tell, the way he was smirking at her. But, at the mention of money, the smirk faded slightly, as flicked his gaze down to the table. “I suppose that depends how long it takes to get hired. . . How long did it take you, at this point?” The fox inquired.

Judy tilted her head back, as she tried to remember what it was like for her. It was different when she’d applied since she’d lived all the way back in Bunnyburrow. Inspector Zredyote had scheduled several tests in one day, just to make it so she didn’t have to drive in constantly. 

“Well, we got most of the tests done pretty quickly. . . But, from where you are, I’d say it took about four months for me to finish everything and get a call back. You’re already going faster than I did, though, so, I’m not too sure how long it’ll take you.” She murmured, shrugging.

Nick nodded slightly, sighing. “Well, as long as it takes _exactly_ that long, I should be fine. Might have to start eating ramen a lot, though.” 

Judy laughed at the thought, while she thought about what that meant for him. There was no guarantee that it wouldn’t take a lot longer than that. Some applications took over a year, and others were finished in three months from the very start. It all depended on whose desk it was on, and how the background checks went. And, the hiring needs of the police department of course.

Still. . . She hoped it would go quickly for him. Judy knew it wasn’t exactly her fault, but she would feel bad for being involved in him losing his house. . . There had to be something that she could do to help that, right?

And then, she remembered her own lease, and perked up. “Hey, actually. . . My lease extension expires in about three months. I was debating on talking with the landlady about getting a. . . different apartment. . . My neighbours are nice, and all, but it would be nice to be able to sleep without hearing all the ruckus. I know there’s some two bed, one bath units in the complex, so it would likely be pretty cheap.”

Nick looked back up at her, with a surprise expression. To be honest, she was a little surprised with herself. Sure, they were friends and all, but, moving into a new apartment was a lot, considering she was happy where she was.

However, she wanted her own bathroom, instead of the ‘floor’ bathrooms. So bad. And, maybe a real kitchen would be nice. “That’d be pretty expensive for you, wouldn’t it?” Nick asked, cautiously.

He was right. However. “Well, if you don’t get a call back by then, I expect you ought to get a part-time job, at least. I definitely expect you to pay your half, you know.” She teased, shaking her head. The idea of a fox bagging groceries, in a silly supermarket uniform was hilarious. And, mildly cute, if she was honest. He’d look silly.

The fox smirked at her, shaking his head. “Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that. This fox doesn’t do ‘manual labour’ very well. Delicate hands, y’know?” He mused, holding his paws towards her.

She had to admit, he knew something about pad care, that was certain. But she sneered at him. “Really? I’m pretty sure I saw you do a whole lot of manual labour, just for a bunch of pawpsicles. . .”

Nick laughed. “Touché, Carrots. . . Still, do you really think you could handle living with a fox?” 

She rolled her eyes. “I’ve dealt with living with over two hundred siblings. I’m pretty sure I’ve dealt with far worse than some fox fur on the couch. If you know how to work a vacuum and a broom, you’ll be better than most of my brothers.”

Nick’s smile widened, as he leaned forward. “While I’m not saying yes, or anything, I can say that you’re in luck. Not only do I know how vacuums work, I also know how to cook. And, I’m damn good, if I say my-“

Delilah came in and placed a large plate full of food down in front of the fox before he could finish. “Mhm, yeah. I’ve tried your spaghetti before, Nick. You can’t even figure out the instructions on a ramen pack. Don’t listen to him, Ms. Bun. There’s a reason he comes in here all the time.” She finished with a smirk, as she set down a hot plate of vegetables in front of the rabbit.

She grinned at the fox, whose smile had quickly evaporated into a frown. “Spaghetti, Nick? How do you mess up spaghetti?”

The fox sighed, as his ears flitted backwards. “My hotplate broke, _once_ , and she’s never let me forget it. . . I cook jus-“

“Ha!” The vixen continued, shaking her head. “If only it was once. You’ve still got that hotplate, don’t you? Why? It only works half the time anyway?”

Nick stared at the vixen, ears pinned against his neck. “It works fine, if you hold the cord the right way.”

“That’s a fire hazard, Nick.” Judy interjected, genuinely concerned. “Faulty electronics are responsible for a lot of accidental house fires. If your hotplate is having cord issues like that, it’s possible it could cause a fire. You should get a new one.”

Nick looked at her, eyes wide with disappointment. “I. Unplug it. When I’m done. Okay?”

She shook her head. “Not really. What if you forgot to unplug it one day? It could set your entire apartment on fire. Do you need help buying a new one? I could lend you some money.” She offered, genuinely. How much could a hotplate really cost?

“Nope, I’m fine, thanks for nothing, Delilah, this burger looks great, mmmmh.” He growled, as he grabbed the burger and chomped down on with a snarl. Judy smirked at the angry fox, as he began chewing on his first few bites. She wasn’t sure if that meant he enjoyed it, or. . .

“Well, I’ve got other customers, so, I hope you two enjoy the food. . . Have fun~.” She teased, as she walked away. 

“Thanks for the food.” Judy tried to add as the vixen walked away. The fox did turn back to her with a wink, before hurrying off to another table. Finally, Judy turned her attention to the food in front of her.

It was definitely roasted carrots and vegetables, with a large helping of greens on the side. They were clearly seasoned, so. . . They should be good, right? She looked up at the fox, who was busy angrily eating his burger. He was such a silly tod.

But she couldn’t keep holding off, as she grabbed her fork and looked down at the plate again. She stabbed a lone carrot and lifted it to her nose. She took a quick sniff, nodding approvingly. She could smell that they’d taken a lot of time seasoning them. She glanced up from the carrot, seeing the fox watching her curiously.

He was still holding the burger to his muzzle, eyes locked on the rabbit sniffing her food. She narrowed her eyes disapprovingly. It was a habit, she couldn’t’ help it. “What’s so interesting, Slick?” The rabbit asked, one ear flitting to the side in annoyance.

The fox jerked slightly at her words, as he lowered the burger slightly. He licked his muzzle, clearing off some bug debris as he swallowed the bite he’d taken. “Nothing. Just, your nose twitches. When you do that sniffing thing. It was kind of adorable.”

She rolled her eyes. “Shut up.” He had to be funny, didn’t he? He snorted and started eating his burger again. With that, she lifted the carrot back up, and took a big bite.

Holy shit. She wasn’t sure what it was. . . But damn, it was good. She took another bite, and another, while the fox watched on with a grin.

“See? I told you this place was good. Wait till you try the bok choy.”

He was right. The bok choy were damn good.

When they were done eating, Judy fought with Nick to pay the bill. He couldn’t just sit there and mope around about his finances without consequences, after all. Besides, she felt bad for judging the place before she ate. Especially when they were all so damn nice.

Luckily for the rabbit, Delilah seemed to like the idea of pissing off Nick. She even chimed in to say that instead of paying the bill, he could buy a new hotplate. That shut the fox up for a bit, as he glowered on their walk back to the nearby train station.

But it wasn’t long before they started chatting again, laughing at one another as usual. As they walked up the stairs to the station, Nick glanced down at his phone. “Oh, and look at that. . . A very detailed message from Zredyote. . .” He murmured, as he tapped on the screen.

She smiled, as she hopped up the stairs. “Well, don’t just leave me in suspense, Nick. What’s it say?”

He let out a snort, shaking his head. “Well, obviously, I passed the physical. . . Wow, I guess my Psych Eval is tomorrow. . . And he’s got my medical scheduled for Wednesday, and the polygraph on Friday. . . Well, I guess he’s really putting the pedal. . . down.” Nick started, before his voice trailed off. She turned, and saw the fox had frozen in place, halfway through walking up a stair.

His face looked. . . concerned, as he stared at his phone. “What’s up, Nick?” She asked, as she cocked her head to the side. What else was in that email?

Nick looked up at her, as his ears flitted back. “. . . The panel interview’s next Monday. . .” He muttered, shaking his head slightly. Judy was conflicted at that, as she let out a sigh. She was happy for him and wanted to be excited and celebrate.

But. Nick had talked to her about this before, and, he was still nervous about the interview. This wasn’t with Zredyote this time. This was the big one, the one that truly mattered. It would be three other officers, and no one that he knew, probably. Instead of normal questions, you were asked to ‘describe a time when’. Which, sounds easy, until you are sitting there with three mammals watching you, writing down everything you’ve said.

It wasn’t so fun. “Oh. . . Well, it’s better that it happens sooner, right? Get it over with?” She muttered, cringing as the words came out of her mouth. That never made anyone feel better, did it? But, the fox nodded, and looked back at his phone.

“Yeah, it definitely could be worse. He says he wants to meet with me before then, and work on my answers and stuff. . . Do a few practice runs, I guess? I mean, this is good news. It seems like everything’s moving pretty fast, right?” Nick responded, putting on a grin as he stuffed his phone back into his pocked, heading up the stairs.

It was indeed the last step that Nick would have to actively participate in. After that, it was down to a background check, and then just waiting for a call. It was, surprising to Judy, a lot quicker than her own sets. But that meant nothing on the back end.

Depending how busy the office that did background checks were, it could take months. And then just waiting for them to finalize the application, you couldn’t predict it. But that was thinking pessimistically.

“It is good news. It still could take awhile. It really depends how many applications they’re running through right now, and whether they are hiring a lot of officers right now. . . I mean, it doesn’t hurt to have a backup plan just in case it takes a bit, right?” Judy countered. She hated being a stick in the mud. . . She wanted to reassure the fox, make that smile a lot brighter. Somehow. 

They were friends. Good friends, she figured. It was kind of weird to think that one of her first friends in Zootopia was a former criminal. . .

He let out a soft snort, shaking his head lightly as he started walking back up the steps. “Oh, don’t worry, Carrots, I’m considering your offer. I’m not against having a sugar bunny. I am such a trophy fox, after all.” He teased, looking back at her with a grin.

She rolled her eyes, as she started following the fox up the steps. “Mhm, keep telling yourself that, Nick. I just want to have a bathroom I share with only one mammal, for at least once in my life. You’re just a convenient way to achieve that. You’re still going to have to pay your half of the rent.”

The fox walked up the final flight of stairs, thumping his way toward the wait benches by the track. The cost of getting a one room, one bathroom apartment in Zootopia was immensely expensive, especially since they were so sought after by out-of-town university students.

That, and she imagined it would be nice to have someone to talk to on the daily commute to the police station. The ride was a long ride, after all. “Mean bunny. . . Are you going to make me sell my body to afford rent, Carrots?” The fox teased, as they waited by the benches. They could see down the track, the train car approaching from a distance.

Nick had such a bad sense of humor. But she could beat him at his own game. “I mean, technically that’s what it means to have a regular job, right? Sell your time, and your body for the purposes of some other entity?”

The fox glanced at her and shook his head. The train slowed to a stop, as the doors hissed open in front of them. “I suppose that is true, isn’t it?” Nick murmured, as he walked towards the doors.

She hopped along behind, grinning. “Besides, I doubt I could get a nickel selling you on a street corner.“ The rabbit teased, as they filed into the car. Surprisingly, the car was fairly empty, and there was an empty bench they could sit on. 

Nick scoffed, holding his chest in feigned pain. “Oh, how cruel, Carrots, how can you be so mean to me?” He whined, as he headed for the empty seat. The fox quickly appropriated it, and Judy followed suit as she hopped onto the seat.

Nick looked down to her, with a silly grin on his face. “It’s fun.” She responded with a shrug, causing the fox to chuckle as he shook his head.

“C’mon. . . Wouldn’t you buy me for a nickel, Carrots?” He asked as he looked at her with that cheeky smirk.

She leaned her head back, as she considered the thought. Briefly. “How about a penny? I could use some help cleaning my apartment.”

“Ha!” The fox blurted out, as he leaned back and crossed his arms. “No. I do have _standards_ , Carrots.”

“Mhm. . . _Right_.”

* * *

Monday.

The polygraph was fine, the medical was fine, and the psych exam was of course just fine. Well, maybe he was a little flustered by the polygraph. . . But they didn’t cancel all the other appointments, right?

Besides, looking back on his time in ‘the chair’, it was probably the best preparation he could have had for this. He looked from one side of the table, to the other, at the three officers quickly jotting down information in front of him.

The Inspector drilled him with questions when they first got together to ‘practice’. He was practically yelling at the fox, demanding answers. It was kind of freaky but looking back on it made these three officers seem far less intimidating.

They had met and went through over three meetings, not including all the ‘mini’ sessions that he’d gone over to Judy’s for. She offered to come to his house. . . That was a definite no. She mocked him enough already, without adding that ammo.

She even did a ‘running’ interview with him, which he was certain was a method of torture. He couldn’t even answer halfway into it, it was so hard to speak. She’d always laugh, and slow down, and cheer him on.

Which. . . He honestly didn’t know how to feel about some days. Growing up, he was so used to being ditched by people he thought were his friends. He was a fox, after all, and he should’ve been ‘accustomed’ to being a loner.

Even Finnick, he was entirely prepared for him to ghost the entire time that they worked together. Speaking of, he wondered how Finnick was doing. . . Nick had ‘given’ the entire business to him, and at the stern warning of Judy, he was encouraged to ‘legitimize’ it.

As Judy so eloquently pointed out, they were so close to doing so already. . . Mostly, be more honest, and file the taxes, after all. Thinking back on that, he felt silly for living his entire life as a criminal.

He gave his head a slight shake, barely noticeable, as he threw that thought out of his head. Thinking about criminal things here. . . Was probably not a good thing. Besides, he was thinking about Judy.

That dastardly rabbit. She was going to be a part of around a dozen of his potential answers and questions in this segment. It wasn’t his fault he never did anything good in his life until he’d met her.

Well, maybe it was. . . But she affected him a lot, even in the short time they’d known one another. Her personality, her smile, that cute way that she bounded when she walked. Wait, adorable, not cute. It wasn’t enough to stop saying it out loud, he needed to make sure he stopped associating that word with her.

Besides. Adorable was accurate with that bunny, especially with that tail flicking about. He grinned, as he lowered his eyes and started to imagi-

“Well, I think we’re ready to begin, Mr. Wilde. . . Sorry for the wait.” A zebra spoke up, at the head of the table. Nick nodded in response, as he pushed that image out of his head. Not the time for that kind of delinquency.

“No apology necessary, sir.” He responded, as he stood up straighter. Why wasn’t he nervous now? Well. . . There really wasn’t a point to be nervous now, was there? It wasn’t like he could run out of the room. And, thanks to Judy and the Inspector. . . He figured he had this in the bag.

“Alright. . . Now, Mr. Wilde, one of the values that we have here at the ZPD is integrity. Can you tell us of a time when you acted with integrity? Maybe intervened when you saw something happening that was wrong?” The zebra asked, as he looked up from his paper with an expressionless face.

Nick smiled. Well, he certainly had a story for them. . . “I once saw a manager being rude to an employee because of the species that she was. She was in an occupation that didn’t usually accept the species that she was, and it was clear that the manager was not a fan of the Mammal Inclusion Initiative. When I realized what was happening, I spoke up against it. . . She’s now a good friend.”

The three mammals started writing some things down, as the fox smiled. If there ever was a moment in his life that he was proud of himself. . . It was standing up for Judy.

* * *

_Two and a half months later. . ._

Judy stood in front of the door of the apartment, an expression of unsure surprise hanging off her face. It was what she’d wanted, right?

Nick hadn’t gotten a call back yet, which is what prompted her to talk to the landlady. If they were going to move in together to save money, then it really didn’t matter if he got the call tomorrow, or five weeks from now.

The closer they got to the end of Nick’s money, the more he was open to the idea of moving in with her. Not that he seemed very closed-off to the thought to begin with. He just made a lot of jokes about it and seemed to push it off. That was the fox’s nature, though.

It wasn’t that big of a deal to her, it made perfect sense. They were friends, and they would be saving money. While Judy wasn’t entirely sure how she might feel about whatever quirks the fox may have, she was excited about being able to break up the chore list. If he cooked at least half-decent, she’d be grateful for his presence. The amount of microwave meals she’d had in the last month.

Nick was supposed to be out looking for a part time job right now. Judy wasn’t entirely sure if Nick was actually handing out resumes, or just pretending that people would call him for a job. In fact, Judy did not know if Nick knew how to make a resume.

Maybe she should’ve asked that first. Judy had also suggested maybe working with Finnick now that he was a ‘responsible’ business-mammal. Or, maybe ask Annette if she’d let him be a waiter for a bit. To that last one, Nick had snidely remarked that he’d look silly in a waiter outfit, to which Judy teased that he should wear what Delilah wore instead.

A skimpy, tip-inducing outfit, if she’d ever seen one.

She smirked, as she remembered the thought of Nick in a crop top. He’d probably make bank on tips that way, too. Judy knew that she would pay for the pleasure of seeing him in skimpy clothing, if only for the chance to take a photo and torture him with it.

With the fox’s tentative consent, Judy had decided that it was probably a good idea to talk to the landlady early, just in case they needed to wait on an opening. Thus, earlier that month, Judy had approached Mrs. Armadillo about the possibility of moving into a two-bedroom apartment at the end of her lease.

Originally, Judy thought it would be a big hassle, but to her surprise the armadillo was very receptive to the thought when Judy explained her thinking. She’d agreed if there was one that was available. Managing a large apartment complex, she needed to check and see who was moving in and out to be sure.

And, by luck, there was. In fact, it was already empty, and available for her to look. She could even move in early if she so wanted. As the armadillo told her, Judy had been a good tenant, and if she wanted to move her stuff before the month was up, it was fine.

It was true that Judy was a good tenant, but that was mainly because she didn’t complain about anything. And didn’t damage anything, either. Maybe it was the fact she was a police officer. . . The only caveat for moving in early would be that she would have to clean up after the last tenants, who’d left the place without doing a deep clean of the place.

Judy was pretty sure that the landlady was avoiding paying for a professional clean. And, those single cheap apartments were in high demand for university students from out of town right now. But Judy didn’t mind cleaning, thanks to her brothers and sisters. And, the fact that she’d technically be getting the apartment for cheap for the last two weeks was also appealing.

So, Judy had said yes, and Mrs. Armadillo had left her the key to her ‘new’ apartment when she got back from work. All Judy needed to do was clean out her own apartment during the last two weeks, and turn the key in, and they would sign the new contract in a week or so. But, before she did that, she wanted to come over and see just how bad the apartment was.

And, when she looked at the apartment number on the tag, that was when she made a horrifying discovery. She stuck the key into the door and turned the tumbler. To her disappointment, the lock clicked open. Her right ear flicked, as it picked up the approaching footsteps.

To her right, the oryx walked down the hall to his apartment door, a bag of groceries in his hooves. As he fumbled with his key, he looked to his left and regarded the rabbit with the same cool, angry look he always gave.

But then, his brow fell, as he curiously cocked his head to the side. “. . . Wasn’t your apartment over there?” He asked, limply gesturing towards the door to his right.

Yeah. For Judy’s benefit, her new apartment was on the same floor. To her detriment, it was on the other side of the Oryx-Alntlerson’s apartment. And, she didn’t have much hope for the thickness of the walls. “Um, yeah, I’m actually mov-“

“I don’t care.” Pronk Oryx-Antlerson responded, as he shook his head and stepped into his own apartment. Judy frowned, as she shook her head. Oh well, Nick would be so happy to make their acquaintance. 

She pushed the door open and stepped into the apartment. And, as she looked around, she shook her head. “Wow.”

It wasn’t dirty. . . Maybe a little grimy, and in need of a vacuum. But what it was, was big. At least by the standards of her previous apartment. There was a small kitchen to the right, with no wall connecting it to a small rugged living room on the left. There was a large window to the left, the benefit of a corner apartment. The bedrooms and bathroom were right ahead of her, with the bathroom tucked into the right corner.

She walked around the apartment, taking note of what was there, and what was dirty. There was a couch, a coffee table, and a tv stand in the living room, all of which were a bit dusty. The carpet also desperately needed a vacuum, and maybe some stain remover.

The kitchen had a refrigerator, a stove, and a microwave, a trifold increase of her current apartment. The linoleum was disgusting, and the counters needed a good wipe down. The cupboards too, she noted with a wrinkled, disgusted nose.

Surprisingly, and luckily, the bedrooms both didn’t have carpet. Both had bed frames and a simple dresser, so that was a good thing. The one in the corner of the building, with the two windows, was the largest. The smaller one had one window but was closer to the bathroom. A prime spot. Part of Judy thought that maybe she should give Nick the larger room. . . But she wanted the view. They could discuss it, probably.

The bathroom. . . . She didn’t want to talk about it. There would be scrubbing, that was for sure.

She pulled out a notebook and began writing down the cleaning supplies that she’d need to buy. And, a few of the things she’d need to buy, just to have around the apartment. A real apartment, this time.

After she got a preliminary list set up, she started wondering about furniture. Did Nick have a TV? Cooking utensils? Well, he had to have a pot, if he screwed up on spaghetti. That was a start, at least. Obviously, Judy needed to get a mattress, and some new bedsheets.

Oh, sweet cheese and crackers, new bedsheets. . . What a thing to look forward to. She really needed a good shopping trip, even if she wasn’t going to be sleeping here soon.

 _Bzzz-Bzzz_. Her phone began to ring in her pocket, earning a light growl from her lips. She had planning and shopping to do, and she didn't want to be interrupted. 

It was probably her parents, after all. Wondering how she was, if she'd been eaten by a predator yet, or something. But as it continued to ring, she pulled it out with a sigh. To her welcome surprise, it was Nick’s number flashing on her screen. She smirked, as she wondered what he could be calling about now.

Maybe how to make a resume? She snickered, as she lifted the phone to her ear. He was such a lovable dork. At least she could tell him about the apartment.

“Hey, Nick.” She began, after she answered the call.

It wasn’t the first time. “Hey, Carrots. What are you up to right now?” The fox’s voice purred through the phone, clearly happy. Judy had a feeling that meant that Nick had spent the entire day avoiding finding a job, like yesterday.

“I’m in the apartment, actually. It’s a mess, but it looks like it can be scrubbed up.” With a lot of hard work. In other words, she wanted Nick to come and pull his weight for once. His weight was bigger than hers, he could be beneficial for once.

“Mhm.” Nick responded. “That doesn’t surprise me. Well, at least you’ll have some time to clean it up. So, I have some news.” The fox raised his voice, as he changed the subject. ‘Have some time’? Was that his way of avoiding the subject of cleaning?

Because she’d hold that damned fox’s nose to the bathroom linoleum if she had to. But she’d circle back to it. He apparently had news important enough to call her, so she might as well let him get what he wanted to out already.

“What’s up, Nick? Did the hotplate ‘break’ again?” She teased, rolling her eyes. He wasn’t going to bring that hotplate with him, was he?

“I got a job.” Nick responded, not acknowledging her tease. Which made her a little sad. What was the point in making a joke if he wasn’t going to play? It was her favourite thing. But. Wait. He got a job?

“Really? That’s great news! Where?” She asked. Where could it be? Maybe he did apply at Annette’s diner. Or, Finnick’s. Or maybe a grocery store? Watching the dork bag her groceries would be fun. It would make these next few months so much less stressful on him, while he wai-

“The Zootopia Police Department. . . I guess, uh. . . The Academy starts next week.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Interesting story, the reason that Sir Robert Peel had to create a new idea for 'ethical modern police' (in 1829. . .) was because the British had knowledge of the historical police in France. And, in certain parts of France at the time, they were little more than fledgling Gestapo for the local governments.
> 
> And the British people would not accept that. They hated the French. But, at the same time, urbanization was creating a need for a police force in London. So, Sir Robert Peel had to come up with a way to present an 'ethical' police force. And, that need is where the 9 Peelian Principles came from. And, why the 2nd Peelian Principle is important.
> 
> If a police force no longer maintains the public respect, and the public does not approve of their existance, then they have knowingly or unknowingly become an occupying force, regardless of intention.
> 
> And no amount of sad McMuffins is going to change that.
> 
> And now, onto the next stage. Finally, Academy time. . .


	4. Being Distant, but Growing Closer

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _"Oh, in case you got covered in that Alt-Right Propaganda gel, here's some advice the lab boys gave me: DO NOT get covered in the Alt-Right Propaganda gel. We haven't entirely nailed down what element it is yet, but I'll tell you this: it's a lively one, and it does NOT like the human conscience."_  
>  -Furry Johnson
> 
> Black Lives Matter. LGBTQA2+ Rights Matter. Trans Rights Matter (Yes, I'm looking at you, JK. Don't make me come up there). Just because the media is no longer interested in covering the peaceful protests across the world, that doesn't mean that they have stopped or that those that support it have stopped (I just saw an article about the Costco hotdog. . . Why). We can't let the chance for change pass, and we need to keep pushing to convince the administration of the world that there is something wrong and it needs to be fixed. Oh, and if anyone is interested, check out the 'Alt-Right Playbook' on Youtube by Innuendo Studios. It runs through why the Alt-Right is the way they are, and how they came to be. 
> 
> 3rd Peelian Principle: To recognize always that to secure and maintain the respect and approval of the public means also the securing of the willing co-operation of the public in the task of securing observance of laws.
> 
> Another fairly direct one, although society has generally accepted this as reality. We follow laws, as best we can, as a rule, to exist in society. It's also important to note that it says 'cooperation', not forceful direction. Cooperate. And, if a law doesn't make sense, it is society's duty to correct that and the police's duty to help. But, what happens if you are observing the law, and the police still come for you? Then the public has a bone to pick with the police.
> 
> Speaking of bones to pick, finally, Nick can start moving forward towards the academy. The place he wants to be most. Or, is it really? For, in order for him to go there. . . He will have to leave something behind. . . In this chapter, I bring up Verbal Judo, the Five-Step Hardstyle, and the 8 Step Vehicle Stop, all things created by George Thompson. If you wish, you can find his videos for greater and more accurate detail on Youtube. It's an old system, but, given the need for de-escalation, it is still somewhat valid.
> 
> Disney owns everything, although I am still salty at you guys for denying my budget raise. Can't you see that I've got a lot of expenses, writing stories about your lovingly created characters wanting to sleep with one another? It take a lot of effort. Like, c'mon, Disney. I need it.  
> 

“Y’know, it still doesn’t seem fair that I have to clean an apartment I’m not staying in.” The fox grumbled as he made his way up the stairs. He was carrying two boxes, stacked upon one another, while the rabbit was carrying the final one behind him. She rolled her eyes, as she steadied her grip when they reached the next landing.

Over the last week, Judy and Nick had spent most of their free time cleaning the apartment and starting to move their stuff in. For Judy, it was fairly easy, carrying her stuff between the apartments. But for Nick, he could only take one box or one big thing there every day that he came over to clean. After all, he still needed to have at least some stuff over at his house to live for the week.

Nick had come with her and signed the new contract a few days ago and introduced himself to the landlady. As per his natural self, the landlady quickly took a shine to the fox. Thinking back on when they first met, she was constantly amazed by how much natural charm he had. She could not help but think that he might even be charming enough to be thanked for writing someone a ticket.

A useful trait for an officer, for sure. Even if underneath it all, he was an ass. “Staying yet or not, I paid you a nickel a day. Wasn’t that what your labour was going for? And, I ordered food each time, isn’t that usually the ‘moving fee’?” She teased. Judy had thrown a bunch of nickels at him when he complained the last time, with a slice of pizza hanging out of his stupid mouth. When they disappeared into the couch, Judy joked that meant that he was the one who had to clean the couch to be paid.

The couch was fairly comfortable, and not too ugly with its dark maroon cloth. She was glad it cleaned up well when she hit it with the rented steam cleaner. She didn’t want to waste some of her savings on furniture and appliances, especially when she had to make some big purchases already.

Since yesterday evening, when Nick had helped her drag her new mattress’ box upstairs, Judy had been sleeping in the new apartment. The view she had this morning alone was worth the extra rent, let alone the bathroom and kitchen.

Nick had ironically put up no argument to the idea of taking the smaller room. As he argued, the window in the small room was pointed perpendicular from the rising sun, giving the nocturnal mammal a little respite compared to her bedroom’s larger side window.

The little bunny, on the other hand, relished the morning sun. It was such a good way to start the day, just rolling right out of bed to walk up to the large, panoramic window. But she also wanted new blinds. And they were expensive as hell.

“Hey, I offered to cook. It’s not my fault you said no.” The fox responded snidely, as they continued up another flight of stairs. That was true, he had offered. However, Judy honestly didn’t want to deal with more dishes than necessary, on top of cleaning the entire apartment.

One step at a time, after all. Besides, this was the last box of kitchen stuff, finally, so they could unpack it all at once. She would be surprised if any of Nick's kitchen stuff was in good condition, anyway. “But you didn’t have to, that should have been its reward. Why not just relax after a hard day of cleaning and organizing?” She responded as they continued ascending together.

That was what they’d done for the past few days, as they slowly tried to get the place somewhat reasonably set up. And, today, Judy hoped, it would play out the same way. After all, this was the last of Nick’s stuff from his apartment.

As Nick told it, his landlord’s reaction to him possibly moving out was, to put it simply, ‘whatever’. He didn’t even ask to pay out the lease or complain, it was just simply a big shrug. Judy wondered if the landlord even knew Nick was there when she’d arrived to help him with the final set of boxes.

It was Nick’s last day in Zootopia, after all. In the morning, he was going to have to board a bus to go to the Zootopia Police Academy, and then he was going to be gone for 24 weeks. For Six. Damn. Months.

However, luckily, Nick was going to be paid for that time, albeit only recruit pay, and with the caveat of having to pay for his tuition along the way. Judy always thought that sucked, but the pay was at least decent enough to survive otherwise.

And, decent enough for him to also pay his part of the rent here. Which is why he was complaining so much about having to clean. Why did he have to do all the cleaning if he wasn’t even going to get to enjoy his apartment for six months.

Judy had to admit, it did seem kind of unfair. That was why she agreed that she’d pay three-quarters of the rent while he was gone, instead of a full half. It wasn’t too bad that way, at least. She’d still have enough left over to afford what she needed to survive, and she wouldn’t have to dip into her savings.

Nick, on the other hand, was completely broke until his first paycheque. By his description, he had one good moth he was hanging onto in his wallet at this point.

Probably to eat it, given his fondness of cricket burgers. The crunch always made her a little unsettled. Because of that lack of pay, unfortunately, Nick wasn’t able to buy a new mattress so that he could stay in the apartment tonight. And, if Nick hadn’t already said that he was not going to bring his mattress, Judy certainly vetoed it the moment she saw it.

It wasn’t that it was terrible. It was only a little ripped. A little stained. A little full of dust. To be honest, If Nick hadn’t showered after their run this morning, Judy would’ve made him wash again before touching anything in the apartment after seeing that.

But, to her relief, Nick doubled down on not taking it with him. If only not to have to carry it back to the apartment. And then up five flights of stairs.

A boxed mattress was one thing, trying to drag that horrible thing would’ve been ridiculous. And then, imagine if they’d dropped it, and all the dust and fur particulate hit the air. She would rather die. 

But, since Nick had turned his key in when they came to pick up the last boxes, he had nowhere to sleep for the night. Luckily, Judy still had access to her old apartment, and a quick visit with the landlady when they got here bestowed the approval Nick needed to stay the night there.

As if the armadillo could say no to the fox, what with the way he suavely complimented her. He never pushed any intentions in it, but, a married mammal rarely turned down a few professional compliments, as Nick put it.

The manipulative bastard. But hey, no harm was done, right? Besides, anything would’ve been better than staying at Nick’s little studio. She thought he’d been kidding about how bad it was, but, even a short look inside made Judy realize it was worse than he’d said.

But he was right. The odds of a police officer being curious about the apartment, which was actually in the basement of the complex, was very low. To call the new apartment an upgrade would be an understatement. Now he had a window and a proper bed frame.

And, a counter big enough to hold both his coffee pot and his hot plate, as he so eloquently pointed out. Only one of those things were going to go on the counter, though, Judy reminded him. That hot plate was not wasting space on the counter, not by a long shot.

Even if there was room on the small L counter that separated the kitchen from the living room, Judy didn’t want that disaster of a contraption taking up space. Especially not burning down her apartment.

As they reached their floor, Nick finally responded. “That is true, I suppose. . . If things go as planned, I imagine we’ll finish the bathroom and the kitchen today, mmh? I’m pretty sure my DVD player is in one of these boxes, we could set up the TV?” He saddled up to the door and pushed it open with his rump as they entered the hall.

Judy walked past the fox as he held the push door open, the tip of his nose barely visible past the end of the top box. “That’s an idea if we finish. Thanks.” She added as she headed down the hall with the fox close behind.

In all honestly, the bathroom was done. All it needed was a quick clean of the sink, another good tub scrub, and to put in the new shower curtain and bathmat stuff that she’d gotten. And, a few of the other bits she’d gotten needed to be put away and cleaned up, the toilet paper needed to go under the sink, laundry stuff in the laundry shelf of the bathroom, blah, blah.

The kitchen, on the other hand, had both easier and more things to do. They needed to finish sanitizing the cupboards and drawers and wash the dishes and cutlery that Nick had brought over.

And maybe find some spots for the kitchen appliances. Both Nick’s toaster and the coffee pot would be going on the counter, but Judy had bought a food processer, a blender, and a rice cooker at the local department store.

Also, maybe a bit of new cutlery, and cooking utensils. . . She’d try and salvage what Nick had, but chances were some of it needed to be tossed or recycled. All of her experiences with bachelor mammals back in Bunnyburrow and college on Outback Island suggested they weren’t exactly picky about the state of their cooking stuff.

But maybe Nick was different. They’d yet to open the boxes with ‘kitchen’ scribbled on them, so Judy couldn’t confirm one way or another. And, she was well aware Nick was going to volunteer for the kitchen job as soon as they got there.

It was the ‘easier’ job. And, in deference to him, he was the one who started cleaning the bathroom, after all. He’d done a pretty good job, considering how terrible it had been. He’d nearly thrown his back out scrubbing the crap out of the tub yesterday.

He was probably still sore, considering how much he complained about their run this morning. They’d taken it easy since he was hurting that much. And, it was the day before her next shift block, so, she liked the idea of a light run.

“I’m pretty sure I’ll finish the bathroom fairly quickly. I’ll just need to borrow a chair to get the shower curtain put in. I can reach it, but I’m not busting my skull open the day before the Academy. Then, I’ll set up the TV, and you can order some food.” The fox continued, with a shrug.

Judy walked up to the wall beside the door and pressed the box against the wall with her chest as she reached in her pocket to grab the key. She looked at the fox, a curious expression on her face. “Really? You want to do the bathroom?” Judy asked, surprised that he’d be willing to tackle that tub again.

Nick scoffed, as she slipped the key into the lock and opened the door. “You think I’m going to let a bathtub win against me? Nicholas P. Wilde? I don’t think so. That tub’s going to be as white as an arctic fox’s belly by the time I’m done.”

Judy laughed, as she walked through the door with her box. “Familiar with the bellies of arctic foxes, are you?” She teased, shaking her head. Why was Judy not surprised? She set the box on the nearby kitchen counter, as Nick walked the other two boxes towards his open bedroom door.

“When you grow up in a community where the only ones who talk to you are other foxes, that’s kind of what happens, fluff. Why, would you like a breakdown of High School Nick’s escapades?” The fox returned fire, as he set the two boxes of clothes down in the doorway of his room.

She shook her head. “Not unless you wanna hear about mine, Nick, and I’m pretty sure you don’t want that.” Judy teased, as she looked in the cupboard under the sink and grabbed some cleaner, a scrubber, and the footstool. The kitchen wasn’t going to sanitize itself, after all. She was happy she bought a new cutlery organizer, though. All she’d need to do was wash it in the sink and-

“Go for it.” The fox responded, tone thick with amusement. She turned around to see Nick leaning on the doorframe to his room, with his arms crossed. He was grinning, as he looked right at the rabbit kneeling under the sink. “Hey, I’m all for sex positivity, Carrots, none of that bothers me. Let’s hear it.”

Judy felt the blush creep in her ears, as she turned back around and stood up with the supplies in her hands. “I’m going to start in the kitchen now, you can get back to the bathroom. I put some stronger cleaner under the sink, maybe that will work better. Let me know when you start getting hungry, so we can figure out what to order.” The rabbit quickly reversed course, as she moved to the first drawer on the counter.

She pulled it open and sprayed it with the cleaning solution as the fox snickered behind her as he walked to the bathroom door. “Alright. . . Coward.” Nick teased, as he stepped through the bathroom doorway. Judy shook her head again, as she scrubbed the drawer.

Judy wasn’t a coward. But, at the same time, she wasn’t going to talk about that kind of stuff with Nick, of all mammals. Nor did she want to hear about what Nick had gotten up to. They had an apartment to clean, and she only had one more night to take advantage of Nick’s help.

And she was going to use that fox as much as she could before he left.

* * *

Nick had emerged from the bathroom after three hours or so, claiming great successes. The rabbit had gone into the room, and he’d shown his work to her with great pride. And, she had to admit, he did a decent job.

Judy, on the other hand, had cleaned all the cupboards and drawers and had gotten pretty far in unpacking all the stuff in the kitchen boxes. Now, she’d moved onto washing any of the cutlery and implements that needed to be washed.

To her surprise when she went through the boxes, the hot plate wasn’t there. Maybe he’d listened to her and threw it out. But for some reason that sounded far fetched. It didn’t matter since the stove could do everything a hotplate could, and more.

And, he brought his toaster and coffee maker, both of which worked just fine. As far as she knew, anyway. In a wise moment of foresight, she set up the coffee maker to turn on in the morning, just before she had to go to work.

Thank the mammal who invented that wonderful timed option on coffee makers. Judy was great at getting up in the morning, but even she didn’t want to go through the hassle of making coffee in the morning.

They’d quickly decided on ordering another pizza since it was both cheap and very good. And, simple. It was supposed to come in about 40 minutes, which Nick claimed would give him just enough time to set up his TV and entertainment system.

Except, he confessed, he’d bought the stereo system second hand, and had no idea how it was supposed to work. Or, if it ever worked, since it had sat at the foot of his bed for about three years, unused.

As he fiddled with that, she continued washing both the new stuff and the old stuff that he’d brought over. Most of his cutlery was fine, she was surprised to see. Almost none of it matched, but that would be pedantic to complain about.

It just bothered her, so, she threw those forks and knives in the ‘spares’ section of the cutlery tray. They still existed, that was good enough right? Besides, not like he would have to do the dishes for the next six months. He wouldn’t know, would he?

“If I get this set up in time, we could maybe watch a movie while we eat?” Nick asked, as he desperately tried to figure out where the other end of a cord was supposed to go on the TV. From the bewildered look on his face, Judy was starting to doubt whether he’d finish in time.

But it would be nice to relax for the rest of the night with a movie. It was starting to get late, after all. And, they had made a lot of progress, she just needed to finish a few small things like washing windows and such.

She shrugged, as she scrubbed another plate and put it into the drying rack. “Sure, if you manage to figure it out in time. I’m almost done the dishes, and, everything else is pretty little. . . Thanks for helping clean, Nick. I’m sorry your last day here wasn’t that fun.”

Nick let out a laugh, as he finally slotted the cable into the proper port. “Don’t worry, I’ll get my revenge somehow, Carrots. . . All jokes aside, it seems perfectly normal to spend today with the thorn in my side that made me do this. . . It’s poetic.”

Judy shook her head, snorting. ‘All jokes aside’ her ass, he was always joking. As she set another plate into the drying rack, she looked over at the silly fox. She watched as he looked at the audio systems numerous cords, as his ears fell flat with a quiet whine. “Okay. . . One of these _has_ to go to power, right?” He muttered to himself.

Yeah. As if he was going to finish in time for the pizza to arrive.

* * *

“Thanks! Have a nice night!” Judy said to the delivery driver, an otter who looked exhausted. He nodded, as he turned and walked back to the stairs.

Maybe Judy should have warned the driver about the lack of an elevator. . . But, oh well. She closed the door and turned the lock instinctively as she turned to look at the fox sitting on the floor in the living room.

He looked up at her, eyes wide as he was reaching around the back of the DVD player. Ever since they buzzed the driver in, he was rushing to try and get it all plugged in. In all honestly, Judy figured his franticness probably hurt his progress more than anything. She smirked and walked towards the little coffee table in front of the couch.

“So much for finishing on time.” She teased, as the fox continued working on whatever cable he was trying to deal with now. Judy set the pizza on the table and sat down on the couch with a light bounce. The rabbit, of course, had finished the dishes shortly before they’d arrived, and had started wiping down the counter for a second time by the time they knock on the door.

The fox plugged in the cord and looked over his shoulder at her. “That’s what you think, I’m pretty sure. . . “ He paused, as he reached and hit the ‘on’ button on the DVD player.

For a moment, there was nothing. But, then the little ring of light glowed green, as the box whirred to life. “Ha! See, Carrots, I told you I could do it.” The fox exclaimed as he scooted to the side, out of the way of his masterpiece.

“Mhm. Why are there cords running every which way?” She asked as she cocked her head comically to the side. It looked like a disaster, with grey and black cords more in front of the TV stand than behind, and the small speakers set up randomly around the TV. There were stands for some of the speakers, but they were still laying on the floor.

The fox rolled his eyes, as he slid his rump closer to the coffee table and popped the pizza box open. They didn’t have a table or chairs yet for the kitchen, but that didn’t matter when you had a good coffee table. “Hey, I said I would make it work, not make it look ‘neat’. I’m going to call that ‘mission accomplished’.”

Nick grabbed a slice of pizza, as Judy shook her head. “Let me guess, you’re going to leave me to clean all that up, aren’t you?” She asked, as she grabbed a slice for herself and began digging in.

The fox took a big bite of his slice, chewing and swallowing quickly. As he licked his muzzle, he nodded. “No. . . I’m going to move the speakers around a bit. But now you know where it all plugs in, it should be easy for you.”

Naturally, he’d freeload the rest of it onto her, as he quickly polished off one slice and went onto another. “Well, Mr. Mission Accomplished. What movie do you have in mind?” She asked as she gestured to the small little movie rack he’d brought from his place. The rabbit grabbed another piece and ate it eagerly.

It was so much better than having to do dishes a second time, especially knowing Nick would nope out of that job immediately. Nick looked over at the rack and scanned through it silently.

“How about Meowana?” He asked, reaching, and grabbing the plastic case with a smile. Judy nodded, remembering seeing the film in theatres a while back. A good movie, with a good message, why not?

Her brow furrowed. Wait. That movie was only released on DVD recently. . . Very recently. “Where did you get that movie? I thought it just came out?” She questioned, as she leaned toward the fox.

He looked at her, unimpressed as he popped the case open with a sneer. “Really, Carrots? I pre-ordered it, and it came in last week. . . Considering how much ramen I’ve eaten lately, I wish I didn’t. You think I would give a penny of my money to Duke Weaselton, of all mammals?” He shook his head, as he slipped the disk into the player.

Judy nodded, remembering how the two hadn’t really been on good terms before the Nighthowler incident and probably wasn’t on better terms after the whole Mr. Big thing. “Alright, fair enough. . .” Judy said as she settled into her seat.

The fox turned on the television and the audio equipment before he stood up and made his way over to the couch. He sat beside her and grabbed the remote as the main menu appeared on the screen. “We might have time for two movies. Unless you want to get back to cleaning?” He asked, as he leaned over and grabbed another slice of pizza as the intro credits began to roll.

The rabbit shook her head, as she grabbed another piece as well. “No, everything else is just tiny stuff. Might have to call it early, though. . . We’ll see when I get tired.”

Nick smiled at her, as he relaxed back into the couch. “When Carrots gets tired, huh? We’ll be up all night.”

* * *

Judy smirked at the fox, as she turned the TV off with the remote. Nick, on the other hand, snored back loudly.

He hadn’t been wrong; she was up for all ‘his’ night. She rose from the couch, and quietly carried the pizza leftovers to the fridge. It would make a good lunch for tomorrow, or maybe a quick breakfast in the morning.

Either way, it was at least one meal that Judy didn’t have to pay for or cook. After the pizza was tucked in, she walked back over to the couch, looking at the silly, snoozing fox.

You wouldn’t think he would’ve been comfortable, the way he was propped up on his arm, leaning on the armrest. But the loud snoring suggested that comfort had been forgotten awhile ago. Finally beating that tub took a lot out of the poor fox.

She shook her head, as she walked into her room quietly. Part of her wanted to wake him so he could walk over to her other apartment to sleep in a real bed. Likely, he was going to wake up sore if he stayed like that. It was probably the kind thing to do.

Judy pulled the spare blanket out from under her bed and walked back into the living room to look at the sleepy tod, sawing wood heavily. The ridiculously cute, and silly tod. She shook her head, as she carefully draped over his body with the blanket, tucking it behind his shoulders delicately.

She couldn’t do that. It would be a sin to disturb such a comfy mammal. Besides, he deserved to stay in the apartment one night at least, before he went off for six months. Too bad it wasn’t a bed, but it was something.

She smiled at him, and at her handiwork. It was at least something, so he wouldn’t get cold at night. As if he would anyway, of course. She reached out and gave the fox a gentle pat on the head. His ears twitched, but the fox still snored along.

Judy shook her head, as she walked around the couch and headed for her room. Tomorrow, they’d say goodbye in the morning. She had to leave first, as his bus wasn’t until like 8 AM or something. At least with him sleeping there, she wouldn’t need to worry about missing him.

As she reached the threshold of the door, she heard a soft voice from behind. “Juu. . . . dee.” Nick mumbled, slurred. She looked over her shoulder, pleased to find that the fox hadn’t budged. It was probably just some dream or something.

She smiled, as she slowly closed her door. “Good night, Nick. . . Sleep tight.” 

* * *

_Beep-beep-beep-thwack._

The rabbit defiantly smacked the alarm, as she let out a yawn. Yeah, staying up late watching movies. . . Not a good thing when you needed to wake up at 5:30 AM. She rolled out of bed and started the ritual process of stretches before she hopped down and walked over to her dresser.

She robotically slipped off the clothes she wore yesterday, suddenly regretting sleeping in them, and grabbed one of her uniform sets from the dresser. In the same automatic fashion, she dressed and tossed her clothes into the hamper nearby. She’d wait to put on the belt and the protective gear, though, she had a process to go through.

Do some morning exercises, take a long shower, heat pizza from last night, check the news, and do a light jog to the nearby train station to the ZPD headquarters to meet up with Wolfard before the shift started. That was the plan. But first, coffee. The nectar of morning life.

Hopefully, she could do most of that without waking the fox up. He needed as much sleep as he could get, what with the agony waiting for him at the academy. She wondered how much he’d hear that wonderful phrase coming out of the Major’s mouth. . . Probably a fair bit at the start.

In the middle of a memory, she caught the smell of something, wafting into her bedroom. Something burning. Her nose twitched, as she walked to her bedroom door cautiously. She took in a deep sniff by the door, and caught the scent of cooking carrots. . . And tofu.

She opened the door, and immediately investigated the kitchen.

Nick was standing in front of the stove, frying pan and spatula in hand as he hummed to himself. His ear flitted towards her, and he turned to face her with a grin. “Ah, Carrots. Good morning.” He spoke cheeringly, as he continued to cook carefully. “I figured this is my best opportunity to prove I’m not a terrible cook. . . Of course, I thought the fridge would have more in it, but I digress.”

She rolled her eyes, as she walked over to the kitchen smiling. He was dressed as well, and she saw that he’d moved his little travel bag to the door already. Just yet another reminder that he was going to be gone for six months.

Well. . . At least it wouldn’t be like the last time they parted ways.

Judy looked at what he was cooking, and it became pretty clear that he was mostly just winging it with whatever he found in the fridge. It smelled good, at least. And, given her other choice was reheated pizza, she’d take what she could get.

“Like what you see?” Nick mused as he looked at the rabbit with a grin. She snorted, as she walked up to the full coffee pot and grabbed a mug from the cabinet.

“I’ll take what I can get this morning, I guess. . . Sorry, I didn’t get you up last night, you looked very tired and comfortable. I hope my alarm didn’t wake you.” She muttered, as she poured the black gold into the cup, and quickly took a quick swig.

The fox laughed in response and shook his head. “It’s okay, Carrots, I was already awake when your alarm went off. . . And, the couch wasn’t so bad. I had pleasant enough dreams, at least.”

“Mhm, I’m sure. I’m going to some quick exercises in the living room if you’d like to join me?” She asked as she leaned against the counter. Looking at the fox still poking the frying pan with the spatula, she nodded slightly. “Well, if you can, that is.”

The fox shook his head. “Nah, you go ahead. By the time you’re done, food should be perfect. . . At least somewhat perfect.” He spoke, with slightly falling confidence. Judy drank half of her coffee before she set it on the counter and headed for the living room.

It was nice having a room where you could exercise without hitting furniture, at least. While the fox cooked, she went through her regular morning routine. First, deep stretches to prepare, and then fun parts. Crunches, push-ups, burpees. One-foot hip raises, planks, lunges, and mountain climber conditioning.

All the while she sweated, while the dumb fox in the kitchen cooked. About halfway through he commented on how he was so glad he didn’t join. Judy responded by calling him lazy, but he merely laughed his way through it.

Then, they sat down and ate. It wasn’t as bad as Judy was expecting if she was honest. But naturally, she didn’t give him too much of an ego. After breakfast, she went and took her shower, and finished getting ready for the day.

They idly chatted like they always did. Like as if it wasn’t the last time, they’d see each other for a while. She planned to visit if she got a chance later in the program. But, between her schedules and his, it was hard to tell when that might be.

It wasn’t until she’d fastened her equipment belt on at the door that the two looked at each other, and allowed for the reality to set in.

They were friends. Good friends. And they weren’t going to see one another regularly for a long while, nor be able to hang out and watch movies, clean apartments, or run together.

“Well. . . I guess this is it, Carrots.” He muttered as he smiled at her. She smiled up at him, although she could feel a hind of sadness creeping in. She was the one who had to leave first, which made it harder for her. If he had to go, she could blame it all on him, and get over it just fine. But no, she had to go to work.

The fox was still nervous, no doubt. And she wouldn’t be there by his side. They’d be able to text maybe, but that wasn’t the same. “Yeah. . . Listen to your instructors, Nick. They’ll teach you a lot if you let them, and they’re pushing you to be the best you.”

“But, I’m already the best me?” Nick responded teasingly, as he raised a brow to her. She shook her head and sighed at the stupid fox. The corners of his mouth drooped, as his ears fell slightly. It was clear that he was just as sad as she was, as he looked at the rabbit with genuine eyes. “It won’t be that long, Carrots. . . It’s just a-“

The rabbit silenced him, as she stepped into him and wrapped her arms around him. She squeezed him gently, as she rubbed her face into his chest. She wasn’t crying, but she felt them welling. “I’m going to miss you, slick.”

Nick’s arms had splayed out when she’d grabbed him, but slowly they made their way to rest their paws on her shoulders gently. “Even my terrible jokes?”

She laughed, shaking her head. “Even your terrible jokes.” She muttered, as she slowly pulled out of the hug. Looking into his eyes, she let out a small sigh. “I’ll come for a visit sometime. . . Text me when you get to the academy, okay?” She added as she turned back toward the door. If she kept looking at him, it was going to get worse.

“I will. . . I’ll make sure to lock the door before I leave.” He said with a nod, as she opened the door and began to walk through.

She looked at him one last time and smiled. “See you soon, Nick.” The rabbit spoke, as she let the door close slowly behind her.

Nick raised a paw and waved with a small smile as the door closed with a subtle _click_.

It wouldn’t be too long. And when he came back, he would be in a uniform beside her.

Inside the room, Nick stood in the same spot, his paw still held aloft in that silly, childish wave. He might have wanted to say more before that hug hit him.

That hug reminded him of that day, back underneath the bridge. When the rabbit came to find him, to apologize to him and ask for his help. And then, he’d hugged her, gently. Right before she stood on his tail of course.

Slowly, he looked down at his chest, brow narrowing as he thought about how it had made him feel that day to hug her. And, how it made him feel now. The paw he waved with slowly moved its way to touch his chest, right where she’d rubbed her face into him so vigorously. 

He scratched the area, absentmindedly. “Mmhm.”

* * *

. . . Why was he thinking about that now?

Laying across the desk with his chest, his chin draped against the flat surface, Nick was busy doodling down some notes as the instructor continued talking. Not like anything she was saying, Nick hadn’t read in the book they’d been given for the course.

Of all the time to think about that hug with Judy, why now in class?

Normally, Nick was more professional than the way he looked right now. He looked like a deflated balloon fox if he was honest. He was attentive, engaged, and involved in the educational experience he was undergoing.

They were on their. . . Seventh week? Maybe? He wasn’t sure. They were starting to blur together if he was honest. In both good ways, and bad ways. It was hard work. He’d forever hear Major Freidkin’s ‘You’re dead, red-tail’, and all her other fun idioms, for the rest of his life.

But, after a while, he did exactly as Judy had told him. Use your strengths. Outthink, outsmart, and outmaneuver your problems. And, it was working as soon as he got the hang of what he was dealing with here.

Even the exercise runs were getting easy, even though they were extremely taxing some days when the Major would add fun new twists. Like yesterday, of course. That was a hard run, and Nick had needed to take a break and get some good sleep after that day.

Which is where Nick came to the crux of why he looked like a fox sex doll that met an angry pin.

Nick hadn’t spent a lot of time in bunking situations in his life. If ever if he was being honest. But, generally, Nick figured that there were standard rules and regulations to follow when you bunked in a dorm situation with another person.

Clean up your messes, respect each other’s boundaries, keep your stuff where your stuff should be and don’t touch other people’s stuff.

And don’t masturbate when your bunkmate is there, trying to sleep, on the bunk below you.

Y’know, what you’d expect to be followed. But Nick’s buffalo bunkmate seemed to have forgotten the latter rule and had decided that the middle of the night was the perfect time to start jacking it. Admittedly, Nick was pretty sure the big bull had no idea that Nick was still awake.

However, given the fact that he was shaking the entire damn bunk with his antics, there was a certain point where he should’ve figured it out.

That was Nick’s night. Laying there, middle of the fucking night. Listening to his bunkmate jerk off to some fantasy situation he was imagining, while Nick just stared up at the bottom of the bunk above him wishing for death.

It was possible. Maybe the bunk supports could break from the stress, and it could come down careening on top of Nick. Death by horny buffalo; mammal, that would make for a confusing headstone. 

While laying there, pained, Nick debated on speaking up. However, interrupting at the wrong moment might mean that the buffalo. . . Lost reasonable control. And the idea of that shit flying around was not what he wanted to think about. He wasn’t looking up there to find out if he was using a condom or a sock or some damn tissues to be sure.

So, he just kept hoping it would end. But somehow, this buffalo was extremely ineffective at pleasing himself. Unbelievably, it went on for what felt like hours. Woe to whatever partner he may have if he couldn’t even manage to make himself satisfied in a reasonable amount of time.

Nick also considered revenge. Jack off, as loud as he possibly could. That would’ve been revenge, wouldn’t have? That would be fair? However, Nick understood he wasn’t quite massive enough to shake the bed like the bull was. Nor did he think that even him moaning as loud as he could, would he be able to wake the buffalo from a dead sleep.

Not judging by the snoring, anyway.

But. It wasn’t fair. Nick followed the rules. Weren’t they all supposed to suffer this together, rather than making someone else suffer?

By the time he ‘finished’ himself, Nick couldn’t get back to sleep. He just lay there, and stared at the bottom of the bunk, horrified.

It was around then that he’d first thought of the hug again, staring at the ceiling. It seemed random at the time, what else was he supposed to do? Admittedly, he also thought about her exercising that morning, watching as she moved her form around and around. Nick had tried not to stare, but, he nearly burnt their breakfast a few times. But, that was normal. He thought of a bunch of stupid stuff before the dawn light peeked through the window.

And then Major Friedkin took them out and worked them into the ground yet again. And thus, the deflated defeated fox was draped across the desk like some ridiculous cartoon. While listening to a lecture on Verbal Judo, and the act of de-escalation. Good stuff. The stuff he read in the early morning when he was still trying to forget his bunkmate’s grunting.

“The first step in the Five-step hard style for dealing with difficult mammals is to ask or tell. Now, I’m not a fan of telling, I always try and frame my requests to asks. Most people are going to listen to you if you ask them to do something rather than tell them. Now, as for difficult people, these people are the ones who aren’t going to do what you ask the first time you tell them to. And that’s where step two comes in.”

‘Difficult’ mammals was a bit of a misnomer, as on the face of it someone might interpret those people as being problematic. But, as the book explained, that wasn’t the intention. There were three types of mammals, as the book explained. Nice mammals, the ones who did what you asked when you asked. ‘Difficult’ mammals, the ones who usually asked questions or don’t respond immediately. And ‘wimps’, the ones who were nice to your face but would report to your supervisor, or their father, about you later.

Now, as a fox, he knew that most foxes could be labelled ‘difficult’ people. Almost always, they’d ask why. Or, on the other spectrum, always agree. . . But that was because they’d come to expect the persecution by the police. Foxes were scum, untrustworthy, criminals, in their eyes. And, often, they were stopped based on those prejudices rather than on whether they were doing anything wrong at all.

Foxes weren’t the only ones, there were many other examples. But he understood the writer’s intent in describing them as people who you’d have to work with, to get their cooperation. And quite frankly, he believed the police owed it to them to work for their cooperation.

Wimps were wimps. That was it.

“Step two. Set Context. Or, another way to put it, tell them why. If they ask why, or if they tell you ‘fuck you, I ain’t going to do it’, this is where you tell them exactly why you’re asking them to do something. Explain the law to them, in a way they understand. Now, if this is isn’t immediately in your mind of why or what you’re doing, then chances are, you’re not supposed to be doing what you’re doing.”

Oh, man, if Nick had known that when he was younger. The number of times he’d been stopped and they fabbed their reason up later. . . 

“If you don’t have a legal reason to ask them for something before you ask, then you’ve fucked up already. See, this step builds ground and proves your authority in a situation. It also provides ground, of mutual respect, for them to step out onto. Everyone likes being told why it’s a sign of respect in every species culture across the globe. And it’s that simple.”

Wise words if he’d ever heard them. Thinking about it now, he wished he could deal with his masturbating bunkmate with these principles. . . But, setting context would be pointless with him. The bull was dense as concrete.

“Step three. Give them options. Now, seven out of ten, at minimum, difficult mammals will respond to being told why. If you can explain it to them, they appreciate that kind of respect. The rest who tell you to fuck off, you go to step three. This is where you present them with the options available to them.”

Nick had never been given options in his life. . . Like, ever. It was always the old way, which the teacher had mentioned at the start. Order/Ask them to do something. if refused, Order again. If refused, threaten, with jail or violence. If refused again, the officer hesitates, wondering if they have the arrest. And then, they act, arresting or hurting the person. Because after threatening and not having anyone listen, they’ve painted themselves into a corner.

Like a poor cop does, and like every cop had done accidentally in his life at least once. More did it on purpose.

“Present the options as so, give them specificity, and give them a good option first, and bad second. Tell them why it is better for them, and their interests, to listen to you in some fashion and present an option that shows what they have to lose. You are not threatening them, you are giving them the options. And, be specific, and be honest about those options. If you are bullshitting the good stuff, they’re going to know, and the fight’s on. Now, your success rate at this step, is at least nine out of ten difficult people are going to listen. So, then we move onto the fourth step.”

It was very important to do step three correctly. Tell them why they would get what they needed by listening to you, appeal to their greed. There were only a few things that drove mammals. Money, time, love, etc. Use them. It’ll be quicker if, it’ll be cheaper if, your partner will be happier if. Nick was very familiar with using these hooks in his own ‘businesses’. . .

“This step is ‘confirm resistance’, and I’ll give you the way to say this. ‘Is there anything that I or my partner can do to earn your cooperation? I’d like to think there is’. Now, isn’t that a wonderful sentence? First, you put the ball in their court on what’s about to happen here. You are giving them an out, to back down on their position. And, that little bit at the end, that hope. That positivity. This is exactly the way to phrase this.”

That was true, though. It gave people an out. Sometimes, around their friends or family, or just situationally, mammals end up painting themselves into the same corner that the officer could. But by using this, you allowed them to feel the situation out and make a better choice.

They can ask the officer to do something and deescalate the situation by doing so. Have the partner talk instead. Apologize. Whatever. And the positivity at the end suggests you care and don’t want this to go forcefully.

Of course, it also gave you the chance to close in, to gesture your partner to come over, and presented an opportunity when the person responded. A chance to evaluate.

“Now, if you hear equal or greater resistance, go to step five, and act when they’re talking. Arrest them, take them to the ground, write them a ticket, whatever you needed to do in the situation. But, if you notice either circumstance changing, or resistance waning. . . Dip right back to step two, and phrase it differently. Give it time to work, you may get compliance the second time around. . . That is the simple explanation for the five-step hard style for getting voluntary compliance.”

Yep, it was. The short version, if Nick had to be honest. . . The book was way more detailed. But, back onto matters that concerned the fox. Thinking about it again, he didn’t see much downside to masturbating now. What, was his roomie going to complain? He could turn it right back around on the damn bull.

And if he was going to be stuck here for another who knew how many weeks with this bull, he might as well get some damn time to ‘himself’. The only question was, what would he masturbate to?

“Cadet Wilde!” Major Friedkin shouted, causing the fox to jolt up. Somehow, the bear had wandered back to his row and was now standing in front of him with a very angry expression. “Are you tired, bushy butt?” The bear growled down at him, frowning.

“Sorry, Major. . . I was unable to sleep last night. I’ve been listening, I promise. . . I’m just very low-energy right now.”

The bear leaned down towards the fox, with a wide grin. “Oh, have you been, Cadet Wilde. . . Give me the Eight-step vehicle stop!” She shouted, at point-blank range. Her breath ruffled his fur, as he blinked. And then, he raised his paw in the air as he slowly began to count.

“. . .Give a greeting. Identify yourself and your agency. Give the reason for the stop. Ask for justification. Request a driver’s license, insurance, and registration. Ask for any necessary clarification, the validity of the documents. Return to your car and decide on what to do, ticket, warning, or otherwise. Give them your decision. Close on a positive note.” Nick murmured, as he finished counting on his paw.

Yes, he got them all. But before she could respond, he continued. “I sincerely apologize, Major. I genuinely care about this subject and genuinely am listening to what is being taught.” He spoke, in the nicest voice he could manage. He did mean it.

The major pulled away and nodded to the fox. “Good. . . I believe you, Cadet. . . However, I want you to give me an example now. . . Makeup whatever you want.” She spoke, calmer this time. But, still the major.

Nick wanted to narrow his eyes at the major. But. . . If he gave her what she wanted, maybe he could go back to trying to think about what to masturbate to.

“Good afternoon, sir. I am Constable Nicholas Wilde with the Zootopia Police Department. The reason I stopped you here today is, you rolled through that stop sign back there. Do you have any justifi. . .”

* * *

“. . . any justification for that, sir?” Wolfard paused, as he read the face of the deer driver for half a beat.

“If not, may I see your driver’s license, registration, and insurance please, sir?” The wolf continued, gesturing with his left paw towards the driver. Judy was waiting in the police cruiser, but her ears were trained to the open window, and she was listening intently to the conversation.

It was always fun to see it in action. It was so professional, so respectful, and it answered a hundred questions that the driver might as when you got to the door. Who you are. Who you work for. Why you stopped them. By the time you paused during the question, they were suddenly unable to ask anything of you more than that.

The driver handed Wolfard a few documents, and he swiftly took them in his left paw. She watched as he quick-scanned the license, barely taking his eyes off the driver for a single second. “Is everything on these correct and up to date, Mr. Hornpoint?”

“Yep, it’s all up to date.” The deer responded for the first time, nodding.

“Alright, sir. For your safety and mine, I’m going to have to ask you to remain the vehicle while I go back and verify this information. Thank you, sir.” The wolf continued before he started making his way back to the car carefully. He looked back and forth and took his time making it back.

On a busy road, that was just safe. But, also by security, he was keeping an eye on the person in the car. Unlikely to cause a problem, but, if you did the system every time you were always safe. The guy had only turned right without stopping at a red light, after all.

Wolfard crawled back into the car and closed the door before he began typing the name into the computer. It brought up the man’s record immediately, as the wolf scanned the dates and information on the registration and insurance.

“Well? What’dya think?” Judy asked as the wolf looked over the information. The wolf sighed and shook his head.

“What do I think? Well. . . It’s seventeen minutes till our shift ends. He doesn’t have a laundry list of traffic offences. He was respectful when I talked to him. And I don’t feel like filling out extra paperwork for a right turn. What do you think?”

Judy shrugged. “Sounds like a warning to me.” She responded, as Wolfard already began scribbling one out. Looking at his file on the computer, he had three traffic offences over ten years of driving. That was damn good, in her book.

The wolf nodded, as he stepped back out of the car. “Correct. Now, I’ll take care of this, then we’ll head back to the station.”

“Alright,” Judy said, sitting back into her seat as her FTO returned to the car. As he saddled up to the car, he handed the driver back his licence and registration, as well as the written piece of paper.

“Well sir, I’ve written you a warning for this time. Now, I hope you have a good day, and be careful pulling out; we at the ZPD care about your safety, sir.” He finished the stop, to a relatively pleased driver.

It was always good to know that the ZPD cared about your safety, right? The wolf walked back to the car and hopped in.

It wasn’t long before they were back on the road, and back at the ZPD station. Wolfard discussed the traffic stop on the way and told her that next time it was going to be her turn to do one alone. She’d done them with him before, but never alone. According to Wolfard, it was time for her to prove how much she’d learned. And, Judy had to say, she learned a lot from him.

And she was ready. More than ready.

After all, they were more than halfway through her field training. And, according to what Wolfard had been saying and reporting, she was doing well.

When they walked back into the station lobby, Ben quickly waved them down, with a big grin on his face. “Hey, guys! How was your shift?” The cheery cheetah asked as they approached the desk.

“It was a good shift. Nothing going on downtown right now, surprisingly.” Wolfard answered, with a shrug. Judy nodded in agreement, as the cheetah shrugged.

“That’s the way it goes some days. Hey, Judy, if you’re done your shift, Chief Bogo wanted me to tell you, that he wanted to talk to you.” Clawhauser added, the rabbit smiling as the cheetah wasted so many words on a simple ask.

Wolfard nodded. “Well, I’m gonna head off to the locker room then. Good luck with Bogo, Judy, you did a good job today. I’ll see you tomorrow, bright and early.” The wolf spoke, as he turned and began walking away with a distracted wave.

“See you tomorrow!” Judy chimed up, waving back at him as he headed for the lockers. The cheetah, on the other hand, watched the wolf with narrowed eyes.

“Mhm. . . Totally not because Fangmeyer just went in there, huh?” Ben mumbled as he took a loud sip from his pop bottle.

Judy cocked her head to the side. “What do you mean by that?” She asked, curious. What did Fangmeyer have to do with anything?

The big cat whipped his head back to the rabbit, a surprised look twisting to a big smile. “Oh, nothing you need to worry about. Bogo should still be in his office if I’m not mistaken. Unless he left when I wasn’t watching. . . Hm.” The cheetah pondered, scratching his chin.

Judy chuckled, with a slight shake of her head. “I’ll track him down, thanks! Have a good day, huh?” She added as she began to walk towards the stairs. Ben waved to her, as he grabbed a donut from the nearby box.

With that, she quickened her pace to a mild jog up the stairs. Judy knew what Bogo was calling her in for. It was the request she made, wasn’t it?

She walked up to the large door and gave it a quick knock. _“Come in.”_ The large buffalo called through the door, his voice as exhausted as usual.

Judy hopped up, turning the door handle deftly as she pushed the door open with her back paws.

The chief was sat at his desk, surrounded by paperwork as usual. “You wanted to see me, sir?” She asked as she walked towards the desk with a bright smile on her face.

He pulled the glasses off of his face and gestured to the chair in front of the desk. “Yes, Officer Hopps. Please, have a seat.” 

She nodded and climbed up onto the chair.

Without waiting for a second, the buffalo grabbed a piece of paper in the corner of his desk and began to speak. “So. . . I received your request, to be assigned as Nicholas Wilde’s field training officer. . . And I must say, it is highly irregular for a new officer to request such a thing.”

She nodded, as she scooted further up on the chair. “I understand, sir. However, there are several benefits to it. Both of us are smaller mammals, so we can support each other effectively when we go into physically smaller businesses or residences. We’ve already proved that we can be an effective team together. Also, I think-“

“You haven’t even completed your field training, Hopps. And Wilde, despite decent reports, is nowhere close to finishing the academy. It’s presumptuous to think you would be ready to take him on, even if you were done your training.” The buffalo interrupted, shaking his head.

Judy had expected this, however. “Well, sir, I am due to finish my training by the end of the next month. Nick still has about five months left of the Academy, so, I will have several months on the job to prove myself before the opportunity arrives.”

The buffalo stared at her, half-lidded eyes betraying his opinion on the subject. Or, his exhaustion. It could be either. “If you talk to-“

Before she could continue, the buffalo let out a heavy, loud sigh. “I _have_ spoken to Wolfard about this. He was in my office yesterday, extolling your virtues and the virtues of consenting to your request. He argued about how fresher officers training recruits would expose a new officer to less cynicism and created biases. The wolf spent an hour speaking for your case until he’d nearly passed out in that chair. . .”

He paused, taking a deep breath. Judy’s brows narrowed, as she listened to the buffalo talk about her FTO. Why didn’t he tell her that he’d gone to see the chief? She told him her plan, but she never expected Wolfard to go out of his way to support her. . .

“I have no direct objections to the thought, Hopps. Merely the fact it is against protocol to do so. . .” Judy opened her mouth and was about to speak when he raised a single digit. “However. . . If Wilde graduates, and if you continue to do well with your FTO, I will consider this. . . After your training finishes, I will keep you assigned to Wolfard, and he has been directed to teach you what you need to know as a Field Training Officer. He will provide you with materials on the subject, and he will test your knowledge. If, by the time that Nick graduates, you’ve impressed me and Wolfard enough. . . I will allow this, just for the sake of my convenience. . . Because I'm sure I won't hear the end of it, between you, the fox, and the damn wolf.”

Bogo leaned back in his chair. “You’ll both be the on-call patrol for medium and small mammal calls, however. . .” He added, with a sigh.

She smiled, widely. Judy needed to thank Wolfard tomorrow. . . For everything. And, maybe get those training books ahead of time. She liked to read ahead. “Thank you, sir. I promise I won’t let you down.”

The buffalo rolled his eyes, as he placed his glasses back on his nose. “I have learned to expect that of you, Hopps. . . Now, go home, and have a nice day. I need to figure out how to reverse an order of $200 worth of donuts on a company card. . .”

He mused as she smiled. Clawhauser put in the wrong card again, didn’t he? “Thank you, sir.” She repeated, as she hopped off the chair and headed out the door.

Well. . . That was easier than she’d expected. . .

* * *

What wasn’t, however, was finding the whisk. She’d checked every drawer, every single spot that it would reasonably be in, and she couldn’t find it.

Meanwhile, everything that would normally constitute carrot pancakes was sitting on the counter, waiting to be combined with vigorous physical activity. But she still didn’t have the tool she required.

Yes, she was having pancakes for dinner. No, she was not taking judgemental comments currently. She was the cook; she could cook whatever she damn well wanted at any time of day that she wanted it. And she wanted carrot pancakes.

Nick had told her he had whisks, and not to buy any. In deference to him, she hadn’t. But now, she was looking around the kitchen, and she couldn’t find anything. And she didn’t remember washing them either now that she thought about it.

Had he lied? Or, were they still in the boxes that he’d put in his room? Judy had debated on using a fork, and it was getting to the point where she was going to give in to that urge. But she decided to try one last thing.

It wasn’t too late, so, Nick should have his phone on him now. So, she texted him, asking him if he knew where the whisks might or might not be. After all, he had to know the contents of what he’d packed, right? Maybe he’d moved them somewhere when he cooked that one morning.

She waited in the kitchen for about ten minutes, before her phone finally chimed with a response.

_Nick: Oh, right, I think they’re in one of the boxes in my room. There wasn’t room for them in the last kitchen box I made, so I threw them in with my other stuff._

Naturally, he did. Why wasn’t she surprised? Well, they’d need a wash now. She texted him back quickly, hoping to be able to catch him before he put his phone away or something.

_Judy: Do I have your permission to go into your room, and go into your boxes get them?_

Judy respected boundaries. She didn’t want to just randomly go through his stuff without consent, that was a huge violation of roommate rules.

_Nick: Sure, I don’t care. So long as you promise not to go sniffing my underwear or stealing my shirts, I don’t care what you do._

Judy rolled her eyes.

_Judy: Why would I ever do that? And what the hell would you do if I did, anyway? Thanks._

She responded as she walked over to his bedroom door. The little bubble of typing popped up for a moment before it paused. She opened the door, watching her phone curiously. What was going on in the fox’s mind, all the way over at the academy?

After about a minute, it resumed typing, as she walked over to the two boxes.

_Nick: Get new underwear, I guess. And new shirts. It should be in the box that’s not full of clothes._

She snorted and put the phone back into her pants as she opened the first box. Inside, it was packed tight with clothes. Immediately, the heavy smell of fox hit her again, and she felt a little bit sad on the inside.

In all his time at the academy so far, she hadn’t had the opportunity to visit him yet. Not even once. And, she felt bad about that. But, they did text every day, and every once in a while they even had a phone conversation.

But she still couldn’t wait for him to be back. She sighed and picked up the box of clothes and moved them to the side. When she opened the next box, she let out a heavy snort.

it was full of mostly ‘not clothes’ items, such as pictures and things. But there, right at the top, was the cruddy, faulty hot plate. Of course, he hadn’t gotten rid of it, why was she not surprised at all? He’d probably hid it here, to keep it away from her. . .

She picked it up and looked it over. It had to be at least ten years old, or something. And, it was definitely worn and deserved to be thrown out by now. She shook her head and set it on the floor beside her.

And then, she saw it. A glint of glass reflection, and beneath it, there was the face of a fox.

Familiar, yet different. She reached into the box and pulled out the little picture frame.

It was clear the photo was older, but, not ancient. In the picture, there stood a tall female vixen. Older, and smiling pleasantly towards the camera. She looked like a nice person, in her little sweater, and a cute dress.

Her paws rested on the shoulders of a much younger fox, who was beaming at the camera with a huge, toothy grin. A very familiar grin distilled into a little kit.

That mus be his mom. And Nick when he was younger. She smiled softly, as she rubbed the dust off the picture frame. Of all the things they'd talked about, Nick didn’t talk about her very much. And despite her curiosity, Judy didn’t want to pry.

But. . . It was nice to see a picture of her. The rabbit shook her head and walked over to the nearby dresser. She propped the frame up, with a grin. She deserved to be on display, and not in a box.

However, she was there for whisks. And pancakes. Judy walked back to the box and looked around again. She immediately found them, as well as a few other utensils that belonged in the kitchen. Not that she really needed extra spoons at this point, though.

She pulled out her phone and texted him.

_Judy: Found them, thanks. I hope you have a good night_

He texted back immediately.

_Nick: I probably won’t, but I’ll make the best of it. You sniffed my shorts, didn’t you?_

Nope, he was out of conversation privileges for the day. Dirty fox didn't deserve a response, why would she sniff his underwear. Besides, she wanted her damn fucking pancakes already.

* * *

_One week later_

At the electronics recycling depot, there was an unwritten rule between the employees. If you found something that you wanted, you could test it and take it home, if you wanted. And that’s exactly what the pig was doing when he plugged the little appliance into the wall.

He was a scrounger. If he didn’t have to pay for it, he wasn’t going to. And this little beauty, if it still worked, was something he could use.

The light came on. He turned the dial and held his paw over the element. There was warmth building, confirming the fact that it was indeed functional.

He snorted, shaking his head.

“Who would throw out a perfectly good hot plate?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don’t know when. I don’t know where. But, in the future, somewhere in Zootopia, there’s going to be a house fire. Because of that fucking hot plate.
> 
> I know that anyone who is reading this by now already knows, but I thought I would talk about why 'All Lives Matter' is a problematic phrase. It is the same root problem as the phrases 'not all cops are bad' and 'not all men are sexist/rapists/violent'. The virulence of these phrases comes from the fact that all of them are 'true', but, they miss their own 'points'. They deliberately try and distract from the issues of society.
> 
> All lives matter, _but not all lives are being treated equally_.  
> Not all cops are bad, _but the ones who are, get away nearly Scott-free if punished at all. And fellow cops let it happen._  
>  Not all men are sexist/rapists/violent, _but those that are, endanger the lives of the people they are with and around, and needs to be acknowledged.._
> 
> The far-right constantly uses these phrases to infer that leftists do not truly stand for their own issues. If you're against 'all lives matter', then you're racist. If you're against police brutality, then you're against law and order. If you're against violent men, then you're against all men. This is when they pull the card of virtue signalling, stating we are claiming to stand for something we don't truly believe. This is just a tactic to try and shake loose some people who are unsure about their stance, the ones who are still finding their way in the world spectrum. But, just like their attempts to claim left symbols for their own, this is also fraught with issues. Because people aren't stupid.


	5. Wrapped in Golden Braid

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _"Just a heads up: We're gonna have a furry superconductor turned up full blast and pointed at you for the duration of this next chapter. I'll be honest, we're throwing furry science at the wall here to see what sticks. No idea what it'll do. Probably nothing. Best-case scenario, you might be turned into your fursona. Worst case, some #ALM affinity, which we'll cut out."_  
>  -Furry Johnson
> 
> Black Lives Matter. Breonna Taylor deserves justice. The judge who granted the no-knock warrant approved it in 5 minutes (In Canada, that would be grounds to can the judge. And his staff. And everyone involved. If, that is, someone caught it). The officers involved submitted a near-blank incident report after the fact. The officer claimed that they 'knocked first, and introduced themselves'. Because that's why you went to the extent of getting a 'no-knock', huh? To knock? Also, as always, LGBTQA2+ Rights matter, and that includes the T of Trans Rights. Harry Potter was wonderful, but seriously, we need to talk about taking that francise away from that person.
> 
> 4th Peelian Principle: To recognise always that the extent to which the co-operation of the public can be secured diminishes proportionately the necessity of the use of physical force and compulsion for achieving police objectives.
> 
> Isn't that a sweet one? The more physical force and compulsion you use, the less the public are going to co-operate with you. The less, the more the public will co-operate. If only there was a way to earn people's voluntary compliance. *Door bursts open, as George Thompson storms into the room with his book, Verbal Judo*. Now that we've got that sequence out of my mind. 
> 
> These Peelian principles are 191 years old. Like. They ain't new flowery 'damned new liberals' ideals. They ancient. Older than my country. And even they're telling the cops that the more frivolously you throw around your 'use of force', the less 'police service' you are, and the more 'occupying force' you become.
> 
> Now, we continue Nick's journey in the academy. Far from his only friends. Far from his closest partner. And fairly certain that he's not having the greatest time of his life. Judy, on the other hand, gets confronted with some unexpected lessons from her partner Wolfard. . .
> 
> Disney owns everything. Including me. Disney, as you are now responsible for me, I expect you to feed me. Or, at least treat me like my cat. Man, would I love to spend a day chasing a chopstick across the floor.

“I know I’ve said this a dozen times. . . But I appreciate that you’ve been giving up your time to give me these lessons, Sergeant Wolfard.” Judy spoke, as she wrote down the information projected on the white screen as fast as she could. This course was supposed to take a ‘prescribed’ amount of time, but given it’s one on one format. . . Judy was certainly she could cut that time down significantly.

For about an hour and a half after each shift, Wolfard had been teaching her the regulations and techniques around being a Field Training Officer. For the first few classes, it was mostly rehashing standards and principles, as well as covering what the FTO was responsible for and what the FTO was not responsible for.

The training officer was responsible for providing a good example, and for providing direction and constructive criticism to help foster good habits and a deep understanding of the job in a recruit. To put it simply, that is. But what the training officer was not responsible for was the recruit’s level of engagement, and that was something that many FTO’s beat themselves up over.

He shrugged, as he waited for her to copy the important bits down. “Don’t thank me, I’m doing this for my own good. If there’s more trained FTO’s, the less likely I get drafted to take care of a newbie again. . . No offence.”

Judy laughed, as she looked back at him and nodded. He tapped on the laptop, and the screen changed onto the next slide. “No offence taken, Sir. . . Y’know, I’m starting to see some of the techniques you’ve been using on me popping up in these slides about constructive criticism. . . You’re pretty manipulative, hmm?”

She shook her head, as she began writing down the new information. The slide was titled ‘the compliment sandwich’, a priceless technique. Ah, how many times the wolf had used it on her in the past few months. . . She had to admit, it worked wonders.

If you needed to constructively criticize someone for something, one of the easiest ways to go about it was sandwiching the issue between two compliments. For instance, early on Wolfard had some complaints about her incident report writing. Instead of just telling her that she wrote five more pages than she needed to, he pointed out a very concise section of the report and talked about how he liked it a lot.

How it got to the point, delivered the information they needed, and didn’t include anything that the Staff Sergeant wouldn’t need to see. And then, he eased it in on a conversation about the five extra pages of information, and how it could have been shorter. By then, Judy was already over the moon with the compliments to notice that she was being encouraged to take another direction.

It was one thing to write the file out in extended fashion for the official file, but the incident reports were primarily meant to inform the staff sergeant of what had occurred in a concise, but detailed fashion. It was a ‘heads up’, and was required to be as concise as possible in the circumstances.

For instance, she didn’t need to write out the entire witness statement, rather focusing on the bits of information that she gathered from the witness statement that was involved in the case. She didn’t need to write about how the witness went on a tangent about their children.

And then, right at the tail end, he shoehorned in a compliment about how despite all of that, he couldn’t find a grammatical error anywhere, even after reading it twice.

The wolf had skillfully done that to Judy, at least a few dozen times over the past three months. And Judy had been none the wiser. . . But her reports were now concise and detailed, and she never forgot her coffee cup in the cruiser ever again. It definitely worked.

The wolf shook his head at her, grinning. “That’s the best part, they never even see it coming.” He nodded, as he looked up at the clock in the corner of the little classroom. Wolfard had ‘requisitioned’ one of the many meeting rooms at the ZPD. By his argument, Bogo would never know, so he would never care. Judy thought that was a little brave, as she nodded, and the wolf clicked to the next slide.

“I think we’ll probably finish up this section today. . . There’s a quiz for next time, and then we go onto ‘Trainer-trainee’ conduct section. . . But, before we go there, I want a practical demonstration from you.” The wolf mused, as he crossed his arms and leaned against the table behind the tiny podium.

She finished writing down the slide and looked up at him with a curious expression. “What do you mean, sir?” She asked, shaking her head slightly. Practical demonstration of what?

The wolf shrugged, as he grinned. “Give me some constructive criticism, Constable Hopps. With the sandwich method of course. I want some compliments here.”

Judy snorted, as she leaned back in her chair. Judy had thanked him for a whole lot of things, and also praised many of the things that she’d been shown, and told over the past few months. And now he was begging for compliments and criticism?

Well, she had compliments. But, how was she supposed to work in criticism? She lifted her pen to her nose, tapping her lips as she thought. Judy also didn’t want to roast him, like she did Nick. Nick deserved it, and she didn’t have to report to Nick for anything.

Hmm. . . “I like how you de-fur your clothes before we go on duty.” She spoke with a shrug, as the wolf suddenly shook his head with a confused expression.

“What?”

“I like how you use a roller to get any of the loose fur off your uniform before setting out at the start of a shift. It gives you a professional look. To finish the look though, you should make sure to keep your tie clip centred more between the buttons of your shirt. It’ll reduce the number of times it gets knocked around. If you get that down consistently, then your entire uniform will be impeccable.” Judy murmured, slightly embarrassed. She didn’t want to criticize any of his procedures, especially since she couldn’t think of one.

The wolf stared at her. Then, he looked down at his shirt. Raised a paw, and straightened the little tie clip on his shirt. “Somewhat harsh. . . And not what I thought you would go for. . . But alright then, fixed. Not perfect, but, a decent place to start. You have the right idea at least.”

She sighed, shaking her head. “I’m not good at impromptu criticisms, let alone compliments. I don’t know if you’ve done anything wrong, how am I supposed to come up with that?”

“Well, you could have just made something up.” He said, shrugging as he clicked over to the next slide. Judy rolled her eyes, as she wondered why he didn’t say that at the start. She could insult anything if she made it up. Hell, she could’ve just inserted one of the many thoughts she’d had about Nick. 

The only thing on the next slide was the credits and the suggestion for the whole class to ‘practice’. It was a class of one this time, so, they were done with that. “You didn’t say I could make it up.”

The wolf nodded, as he unplugged the laptop. “True, I didn’t. But, that’s it for that section for now. Tomorrow, I’ll test you on everything you’ve learned in this unit. Then, if there’s some time, we’ll move onto that ‘trainer-trainee’ relations crap. It’s pretty basic stuff, honestly. We’ll probably get through it by the end of the day.”

Judy closed her notebook, as Wolfard put away all of the equipment he’d borrowed around the room. “What can I look forward to in that unit, sir?” She asked, as she put her stuff back in her backpack, and slung it over her shoulder as she hopped down to the ground.

The wolf shook his head, as he put his laptop into a bag, and slipped the shoulder strap over his head. “Not much. Just talks about the standard things, about how to remain distant when letting them go on their own but always having their back. How to conduct professional and friendly distance, on the job and off the job. And, you know, not abusing the whole ‘mentor-student’ relationship balance. That sort of stuff.”

“I’m surprised they needed a whole unit to teach that.” She muttered, as she shook her head and began to walk out of the classroom with him.

The wolf laughed. “You’d be surprised. The number one problem we’ve had with FTO’s is when they start having ‘relations’ with their students. That’s why the first rule I’m teaching you tomorrow is, don’t sleep with your trainee.”

Judy froze on the spot, as her brain ran through what Wolfard had just said. She frowned and looked up at the wolf. “What?” Sleep with your trainee?

“Well, you see, we’ve had issues crop up now and then with FTO’s who end up feeling. . . Attracted, to their charges. And vice versa, in some situations. . . Normally, a relationship between consenting officers is fine.” The wolf said as he shook his head slightly.

“The issue is, how can the FTO rate someone they’re sleeping with properly and is the student truly consenting to the relationship given the power dynamic? As I’m sure your aware, consent between people with power over the other can be a very grey area.” Wolfard droned on, as the rabbit was attempting to deal with the mental image that had been conjured of Nick. Naked.

Not that she had much to go on for picturing. . . Or wanted to, for that matter. They were friends, after all. She shook her head, as she tried to focus on the topic. FTO’s sleeping with their students? She could see why that was problematic. There was like, six issues with power over others in that kind of situation. Determining what was an abuse of power or not would be hard, even in the most willing of situations. And Judy would never think about that with Nick.

She blinked, as she saw Wolfard looking down at her with a curious look. Wait, she’d better respond, before the wolf thought something of her behaviour. “I’m surprised. . . That’s a common thing?”

The wolf looked down at her, raising his eyebrows at her. “You’d be surprised. You’re in a car, hanging out with them a lot. If you’re not good at maintaining a good social distance from someone. . . It’s not that hard for feelings to start cropping up, real or otherwise. Even if they’re both earnestly attracted to one another, the rules remain the same.”

Wolfard shrugged. “That’s why I make a habit not to hang out too much with trainees outside of work. After the field training, anything goes, that’s fine. But, until that point, it’s a big no-no. Occasionally, we hear about an FTO at one of the other stations that gets shit-canned for it. . . Horny bastards.” 

Judy nodded, as Wolfard turned to continue walking out of the room and into the hall. “Well, duly noted.” She responded as she thought about the idea of social distancing with someone she lived with. But Nick was a different case, she imagined. 

She didn’t have anything to worry about with Nick. Their relationship was already established as close friends. That was it, there was nothing more. He’d never be attracted to her, and she wasn’t attracted to him that way. And she didn’t need to think about that conjured imaged ever again.

As they made their way to the door, Judy searched for a way to change the subject as the wolf plodded along forward. A thought came to her head, and she jumped on the chance to segue away from that topic. “So, who was your field training officer when you started, Wolfard?”

The wolf turned to her for a brief second, as they walked through the hall. His ears fell for a second, as he turned back to face the front. “Officer Fangmeyer. . . They’re a great officer, have you met them?” He asked as Judy shook her head in response. “They’ve taken a whole lot of shit and given it right back. Heck, they even berated my ass a few times.” He mused as they approached the door.

She had yet to be formally introduced to Fangmeyer and had only seen them in the bullpen a few times. But she was proud to hear of their accomplishments. “Do you miss working with them?” She asked, as he pushed the front door open and stepped out into the breeze. Despite never meeting them, Judy was quickly told to address them correctly, should the opportunity ever occur.

He paused, taking in the nice cool wind like he always did. “Yeah, a little. They were certainly entertaining. . . We were due to be partners before I volunteered to train you.”

Judy looked at the wolf, curiously. Why did he look upset? Was this what Ben was talking about before? “I’m sorry if I messed that up.” She found herself saying, shaking her head slightly.

The wolf looked down at her and laughed. “No worries. It’s not a big deal. We chat in the break room now and then. . . Besides, this has been a fun experience. You’ve done well so far. . .” The wolf started, as he turned to face her with his body. Judy noted the quick subject change, and decided to leave it alone. . . But she did have a new curiosity. “So, do you think you’re ready for the SGP exam? You must be pretty excited.”

She looked at him and smiled. “Yep, I can’t wait. . . . Why do they call it the SGP? I would’ve thought it would just be 'FTO' exam or something.” Judy asked. As far as it was explained to her, it was the final exam for the FTO course. She loved acronyms and their origins, but this was one that had been thrown around a lot without any explanation.

The wolf narrowed his eyes, as he turned his head to the side. “Because it’s the Sergeant’s Promotion exam?”

She stared at him, blankly. “The sergeants what?”

“The promotion exam? Constables can’t be FTO’s of other constables, so, Bogo greenlit this as your promotion course. You mean no one told you? That’s why there’s like, ten or so more modules.”

“No, no one told me! What the fuck?!”

Judy didn’t know what the more appropriate response was. Happiness, or pure terror.

* * *

_Three days later._

“The PEACE Model is the standard interviewing method used by the ZPD and most police departments across the world. It doesn’t matter who you are interviewing; the victim, the witness, or the suspect, it works for all. And, it can be combined with other systems, such as the cognitive method.” The guest instructor continued, as he pointed to the projector in the large lecture hall.

Nick was busy copying down the large chart on the screen, even before the jaguar began speaking. It wasn’t going to be pretty, but it was at least going to flow appropriately.

“It’s also comfortable for the interviewer, and the interviewee. It assumes that a calm subject with whom you’ve built rapport will be more likely to cooperate. And, I can tell you know, the science supports this. . . If any of you bothered to listen to the Major, you’re already familiar with how voluntary compliance means.” The jaguar continued, gesturing to the polar bear chuckling in the front row.

According to the Major, the guest speaker was a retired officer of the ZPD, notorious for his interviews. Not in a bad way, but rather in the way that he almost always got a confession from his subjects, using the PEACE model.

An amazing feat, Nick had to admit as he finished the brief chart. He’d been interviewed before, and he never cracked. “There are five phases to the PEACE framework, and each one is essential to the success of the interview. Lo and behold, right there at the top is the P, for Planning and Preparation. What’dya know? Everything you’ve learned in the last module, right at the start.”

The teacher continued to speak sarcastically, earning a quiet snort from the fox. It was a mammal after his own heart, with that snark. He continued to write, as the teacher clicked to the first slide that elaborated on the P of PEACE.

“Where you interview, what to have there, etc., you know all of that stuff. But the moment you walk in that door, you introduce yourself, and you start building rapport with the subject. Now, I will say this once, regarding interviewing suspects, and anyone really, the key to the whole thing is to know as much as you can before you walk through that door.” He spoke sternly, as he pointed to his audience.

“Know everything you can about the offence, about their family, about their actions around the time of the offence. Anything that you think will help you build rapport with them, and call out any lies you come across. But, more on that later. Build rapport by paying attention. Are they wearing a hat with a sports team on it? Comment on it, ask their favourite player, whatever you think is appropriate. After a bit of rapport building, slide right into the E.” He continued, as he clicked to the next slide. Nick narrowly caught the last bit of information on the last slide and redoubled his efforts on this one.

The jaguar cleared his throat. “Engage and explain. Tell them why they’re there, even if it’s obvious. Giving a witness statement, victim statement, being investigated, whatever. Tell the truth. You tell them the reasons and routines of how it’s going to go. As I’m sure you’ve been told, get them to tell you the whole story before you start writing it down. Get them to tell it, then go through it a second time. Not only will it refresh their memory the second go around, but it will give you insight on any additional questions that you may have, and you can write them down and have them at the ready.”

He paused and looked at the slide. “Never let them have a single doubt of why they’re there, and what is going on. Tell them how it’s going to go, and not only will you help their nervousness, you will instantly build a rapport built on respect. As soon as that done, we go onto A. Account clarification and challenge. This is the part where you start taking down what they’re saying, and getting their account of what has happened. Start the same way as always, on blah blah at blah blah, I did see, hear, whatever.”

Nick wrote furiously, as he kept up with the Jaguar. He looked like an older cat and had to be up there if he was retired. But he certainly still had his speed. “Don’t interrupt the account, unless you need minor clarification on spelling or wording of things, as this is supposed to be the pure, unclarified account of what’s happened. As soon as they have finished their account of the events, this is where you can ask questions and review what you’ve been told.”

The jaguar waited for a minute, while the entire class scrambled to keep up with him. “Probe topics for more detail, get checkable facts and introduce topics that you need answers to. And, I remind you, keep these open-ended questions. Asking them if the car is red is not acceptable, ask them what colour the car was. If you need special help to know the difference, make sure there’s a ‘what’ somewhere in the question, not an answer.”

Nick did his best not to snicker. This was one salty cop. And the Major was nearly bucking with laughter in the front row, clearly enjoying the salt. “This is also the point that you can get clarifications, or even challenge their account. This is, in essence, the fun part. There is nothing better than having a suspect tell you a story twice, and convincing them that you believe everything they’ve said. And then, pull the wool off their eyes. ‘So, why do the video footage and cellular data put you at the scene of the crime, not at your mother’s house?’.”

At this point, the whole room was chuckled. The jaguar grinned. “’But, uh, um’. See, this is why you need to know _everything_ you can. Hell, I even had knowing too much ‘somewhat’ backfire once, I knew a B&E suspect’s girlfriend was pregnant before he did. . . It was a weird congratulations moment. But hey, it was easy for him to confess with the thought it would help reduce the sentence, what with a family on the way.” The instructor spoke, comically grimacing.

“Now, if you get a confession here, you’ll have to start a new witness statement and get them to start over at the beginning. However, let’s pretend this is just a witness, to finish out the peace model.” He continued, as he clicked onto the next slide.

“C, for Closure. This is where you thank them for their help, tell them their information will be really important and let them know where to contact you if they think of anything else important. Here, you can establish a great rapport with a witness, enough to leave a positive imprint of the police on them. Will they be more willing to call the police, report something, give a witness statement, if you’re professional and nice at the end? Yes, yes they will.” He murmured, as he clicked through to the next slide.

Nick shook his head, as he started writing down the second E, for Evaluation. The jaguar shrugged, as he faced the class with a frown. “Evaluation. Analyze the info you got, apply it to the investigation, and evaluate your success as an interview. If you could’ve done it better, then remember that, and learn. That is the PEACE model of interviewing, briefly. I’m sure that Major Friedkin will have some handouts for you tomorrow, and have you practice next class?” He asked, looking down at the polar bear. Nick took the opportunity to scribble down the last few points, while the polar bear nodded vigorously.

“Good. . . Now, I want to cover one last interview model. . Just a mention of it, .” The jaguar continued, as he clicked forward to the last slide of the presentation. Nick almost started to write it down, when he saw the large red X, on a nearly empty slide. The only thing written on the slide was the title, and it was in red as well. “. . . The Reid Method.”

His tone shifted, to one of. . . anger? “This is a warning, not a lesson. The Reid Method is an aggressive interview style, that is used to continually berate your suspect by assuming their complicity. The intention is to get a ‘confession’. But, statistically, over half of those confessions are false. . . This is not a joke. Several mammals have spent decades in jail because they confessed to a crime they did not commit due to a Reid interrogation. They always retract the confession, but no one cares at that point. In some cases, only DNA evidence has cleared these mammals of the charges.”

His eyes appeared to glow, as he angrily pointed at the board. “Do not let anyone on the force convince you this is an acceptable interview model. It isn’t. It never will be. It’s unethical. . . And that’s your warning. . . If I so much as hear about a Reid interview occurring at the ZPD, I will personally track you down, and use it on you. . . And you don’t want me to do that. . . Also, don’t use this on your significant others. Many a marriage has been destroyed from it.” The Jaguar added, attempting to alleviate the gloom in the room. It worked, a bit, as the room slowly chuckled.

But Nick didn’t chuckle. The fox never could, talking about the Reid method. He was, unfortunately, familiar with the technique. . .

He didn’t even need those details to know it was used on him once before. . .

The officer told him that the evidence all pointed to him, of a crime he hadn’t done. That Nick had this one chance to explain or justify it. That he would be convicted, either way, but that a confession would help him. The officer tried to shift the blame off of Nick, saying it was his ‘circumstances’ as a fox, not him himself. That it was excusable, somehow less serious than personally motivated.

Nick denied it. He flat out denied it and refused to cooperate. He tried to explain that he was never there, he was not involved with Mr. Big’s operations. The officer tried to claim he was being sincere in his interest in helping him. But that was a lie, Nick knew it, and he wasn’t playing.

He started offering Nick alternatives for why the fox had committed it. Maybe he did it because he wanted to kill his business opponents. Or, maybe it was an accident, and they had pulled the gun first during the deal and he reacted.

But either option was a confession. And Nick told the officer to kiss his ass for trying to trick him, he’d never even been in that alley. Unfortunately for the officer, that standoff lasted for three hours and went nowhere. But Nick remembered the seething anger he felt.

The officer left with nothing. Not a damn thing. Because there wasn’t a thing, Nick hadn’t shot anyone. He didn’t have any part of Mr. Big’s crime organization anymore. He was just the nearest fox that the bastard officer found, and he was dragged to the station for three damn hours of interrogation.

If he could remember the guy’s name. . . Nah, he had to be gone by now. He couldn’t still be working at the ZPD, Nick had left a scathing complaint about him at some point. Fucking wolf.

By the time Nick roused to the world around him, people were already filing out of the room. The guest inspector, whatever his name was, was talking to Major Friedkin as they exited the building.

Robotically, Nick gathered his stuff and placed it into his duffle bag. Forcefully. He hauled the strap over his shoulder and headed for the exit. Internally, his mind kept running through the officer’s trick questions and shouts. Nick hadn’t thought about that day in years until that instructor started talking about it.

As much as Nick wanted to try and remember his name, and find out what happened to that officer, he also didn’t want to deal with remembering any more of that trauma. But, if he wasn’t fired, Nick was going to have a problem.

It was Friday afternoon. There were no classes, no runs, no workshops that they had to do. And, they could even sleep in tomorrow morning, it was Saturday. But that left him with a lot of time to himself this afternoon. Three months ago, Nick would have thought it was a good time for homework. However, lately, he hadn’t had much to do in that ‘area’.

He had nothing else to do after class, all the way out here without friends. And, it helped when you had a buffalo dead set on ruining his sleep. If he stayed up doing homework at the desk, the bull wasn’t brave enough to jack off. Therefore, all he had to do was wait until the bull was snoring loudly, and then he could get some sleep.

Bumped his average to about 5 hours of sleep, a definite improvement over 1. And, he was killing all the assignments, so there was that.

Nick exited the ‘school’ structure and crossed the small compound over to the dormitories. It was a pretty bland, grey structure. Very ‘functional’ architecture, something that Nick was fairly fond of sometimes. That is when they didn’t look like a converted parking garage like this one did.

He entered the structure, and headed towards his little shared room with a blank, thumping walk as he tried to shake himself out of the funk he was in. That was several years ago. That was why he was here, wasn’t it? To be better than cops like him.

He could positively use that memory, as a measure of his success. Lazily, he opened the door to the dorm and walked inside the tiny structure. The bunk was on one side, and two desks on the other. One desk was way smaller, clearly for the fox. . . How accommodating they were. Each had a small closet for clothes, but other than that, the entire room was pretty bare.

Nick flopped his bag onto the bed and took a seat with a sigh. He pulled out his phone and looked at the time as his ear flitted back and forth.

It was 6:41 PM. The last time she’d talked to him, she said she was on the evening shift, which ended around 11:00 PM. If she worked today, which given his luck she did. That. . . Sucked. He would have to wait until then, at least. Which left him with a whole lot of time to himself, unfortunately. And his thoughts.

Still. . . He needed to hear-

The door clicked and opened slowly before his young buffalo roommate stepped through the door. Nick looked at him and smiled cheerfully. “Hello, Bill.” The fox began, as the buffalo looked at him with a surprised look. And, a slightly embarrassed look, too. . . What was going on?

“Hey, uh, Nick. . . Me and a bunch of the other recruits are going to a party down by the river today. Y’know, since we’re about halfway through the course now. We wanted to know if you’d like to join us, maybe?” The buffalo began, straightening his back slightly. 

Hmm. . . Nick wondered how genuine that invitation was. . . However, that was kind of rude of him. Despite how standoffish Nick had been during the entire course, the rest of the class was mostly nice to him. And, a party did seem like a good way to spend the next several hours, waiting for Judy to get off shift. . .

“Nah, I’m pretty behind on the community policing assignment. Thanks for the invitation, though. Maybe next time?” The fox lied slightly, as he shrugged. As much as it was a good idea, Nick was not in the greatest mood right now. Partying while unhappy, was probably not the best idea.

Besides, he got plastered pretty easily. If he somehow managed to forget to call Judy, he’d be pretty upset with himself. The buffalo nodded. “Alright, no problem, next time for sure. Good luck on your assignment then?” He offered, kindly. Nick smiled wider and nodded to him.

“You guys have fun. I guess I’ll see you tomorrow, or later tonight.” Yeah, way later, if anything. Which meant he’d probably be asleep when the buffalo arrived, and the damn bastard would masturbate. Eh. . . Nick guessed he’d earned one, at least. . .

The bull nodded, as he stepped backwards out of the doorway. “Yeah, see you tomorrow.” He finished, before closing the door behind him.

And Nick sighed, loudly. He slowly rose and opened his bag. Nick pulled out his laptop and walked over to his little desk.

He sat down, opened the laptop, and turned it on. Maybe he should have gone to the party. . . He wouldn’t be sad all the time, right? It would distract him. And, he could always call Judy tomorrow, or something. It wasn’t like it mattered when he called her.

But, as the laptop booted up, he found himself opening up Zoogle and staring at the search bar. What was that officer’s name? It was Wolf-something, wasn’t it. . .?

He typed in ZPD Officer, space, and typed Wolf. As the suggested options popped up, he read through them slowly.

Wolfmeyer. Nope

Wolfard. Definitely nope, that was Judy’s FTO.

Wolfhanssen. Nope Nope.

Wolfrump. Hardly.

Wolfbashar. Nope.

Wolfy. Was he just being speciesist, remembering the name as wolf-something?

Wolfsei. . . . Wait, that one rang a bell. . . Yes, that was his name, wasn’t it? Was there a picture on Zoogle?

He hit enter, and the screen filled up with news articles. The first that caught his eye was an article named ‘Wolfsei cleared of any wrongdoing in investigation’. . . Yeah, Nick was pretty sure he’d found the right one. There were a few more questionable articles, but first Nick needed to be sure he had the right Wolfsei. He clicked images, and immediately he saw a photo of that very officer, grinning at the camera like the smug wolf he was.

The bastard himself. . . He’d been fired, right? Nick switched back to the web search, and began to-

 _“Cadet Wilde, report to the front office.”_ A voice blared through the speaker above him, as he rolled his eyes in frustration. What could the front office want. . . The last time they called him there, they were asking about a reported theft in the dormitories. Because of course, the first person to talk to was a fox, right?

He closed the window and powered down the laptop. He would have to remember the search later, for when he got back. He wasn’t going to forget the name again, at least. That fucking smug bastard.

The fox glowered over that image all the way over to the main complex, as he headed right for the front offices and reception area. Why that bastard was allowed to smile after what he’d done Nick would never know. They should’ve busted his teeth out after Nick’s complaint. He’d better have been fired. . .

As he marched into the small lobby area, it was clear to anyone watching that the fox wasn’t in the greatest of moods. His face wasn’t angry, but, between his eyes and the bristled fur, it was obvious that it wasn’t the best day for the fox.

Then, he heard laughter, as he approached the large glass doors into the front office. Boisterous laughter, of a few people, clearly enjoying a good joke.

And. . . One of the laughs was much higher than the rest. And, very familiar to Nick. his ears perked up instantly, as he looked through the windows with excited eyes.

As he gazed through the glass door, he saw who was standing by the front counter. It was Major Freidkin, and the guest instructor, laughing together. And right beside them, laughing along, was that rabbit. Who’d already clocked the fox, and was watching the orange creature through the clear glass.

“When I first saw this rabbit in my class, I knew she’d make it as an officer. Never thought toilets would be her biggest obstacle in the Academy, though.” The guest instructor joked as Judy shook her head. Nick pulled the door open and stepped through.

The two others turned their heads towards him at the sound, as he walked into the room with a surprised expression. And, slightly curving mouth corners. He didn’t expect. . . Why. . . How? Wasn’t she supposed to be working? Wait, did ‘how’ even fucking matter to him? She was here, that was the important part.

“Hey, Nick!” Judy spoke, chipper as usual as she gave him a slight wave with a mini hop. Friedkin smiled, amused, which terrified the fox more than anything else. Why was she smiling at him? The instructor glanced from Judy to him, and then back with a curious expression.

Nick didn’t know what that meant. . . And, he didn’t want to ask. “Hey, Carrots. . . Major, sir.” He spoke, nodding to the two larger mammals with a smile. “What are you doing here?”

She shrugged. “Well, I had the day off for once, so, I figured I’d finally come down and see you. I had no idea that one of my college instructors were going to be here, though. This Jaguar taught me a lot, back in college.” The rabbit added, gesturing to the towering jaguar.

He let out a snort. “And more importantly, you remembered it, Hopps. It’s students like you who make me proud. . .”

“It’s your teaching that makes me the way I am, so, you have yourself to thank for being proud.” Judy countered as she shrugged.

“Yes, I am very proud of myself, too, thanks for noticing. . .” He muttered as he glanced over at the Major for a brief moment. She nodded, and he let out a sigh. “As much as I’d love to stay and chat, I’m going to have to make my way back to Watanobbi eventually. Major, shall we go for that coffee?” The jaguar interjected.

“Certainly. You can tell me what retired life is like. You traitor. . .” The polar bear teased him, shaking her head. “It was nice to see you again, Hopps. Remember what I told you, though. Get back to me on that, right away.” The ursine spoke sternly, waggling a paw at the rabbit.

She nodded at the polar bear, as the fox stood there clueless about what they were talking about. He’d somewhat hoped to join the conversation, not be tiptoed around. . . But maybe they did have somewhere to be. “I will definitely consider it. . . But I don’t know if I deserve that honour Major. . . Not after what happened. . .” The rabbit spoke, looking down at the ground as her ears drooped.

“Hah!” The polar bear exclaimed as she shook her head. “What ‘happened’ after, is why you deserve it most. . . You’d better have a first draft done by next week. I’ll get it approved by the Commissioner, and that’ll be that. . . You’ll do fine.”

They continued to talk as if Nick was somehow aware of their discussion. This was frustrating, but. . . Nick feared clap-back from the two massive predators. “I guess so, Major. . . I’ll get it done right away.” How in the world could the Major order her around? They weren’t in the same unit. . . Eh, Nick had better not get involved. . .

“Cadet Wilde.” The polar bear spoke up, causing his head to snap up to face her. “I’ll see you in class. C’mon, traitor.” She teased again, as she gestured and began walking towards the exit.

The jaguar laughed, as rolled his eyes. “It was nice to see you, Judy. Feel free to visit the college anytime, I’d love to catch up some more. . . Wilde. It was nice to meet you.” The jaguar spoke to him with a nod, as the cat began to follow the bear.

The fox nodded back, as they walked away. “It was nice to see you too, Mr. Zumaz!” She called after him, as they both waved to each other.

Nick raised his hand in a sheepish wave, as he watched the two exit the door. When he turned back around, the rabbit had crossed her arms and smirked up at him. “Hey.” He repeated, somewhat sheepishly.

“Hello, slick. . . What, are you surprised to see me?” She teased, as she moved her arms out with a disappointed shrug.

He snorted. “That depends. Are you the reason that I was called to the office? Or, am I in trouble for something, which, I never did?” He asked, comically. He knew she was the reason, but, eh. Playing around was fun.

“ _No_ , it’s just a total coincidence that I, your friend and roommate, happen to be here at the same time you get called to the office, for peeping in the showers again. What, am I not a good enough reason to come to the office?”

“It’s an open shower room, Judy. You know that. I try _not_ to peep, but it’s pretty hard when half of everyone’s junk is basically at my head height.” As per standard, the male and female shower rooms were both very open, with only a small barrier between the showerheads.

However, as the short one, Nick had to deal with the fact that so many males didn’t give a damn about putting towels on, and proudly wandered around. It was their right to, however, it would be nice to have a conversation without someone’s ‘equipment’ on display.

This just reminded him that it was the last time he told Judy about anything if she was just going to relentlessly tease him about it. “Say whatever you want, peeping tod. . . Have you eaten yet, peeper?”

“. . . I don’t like that nickname. Everyone has their likes and that’s okay, but there isn’t anything in that shower room I’d be interested in seeing on a personal level. . . But no, to your question, I haven’t eaten.” He said, shaking his head. Normally, he went for dinner around 7 at the cafeteria. At least then the line wasn’t ten miles long.

She laughed, as she gestured her head toward the door, and began happily walking toward the door. “C’mon then, Nick. I know of a good restaurant nearby.”

He frowned. “Wait, you’re going to make me walk there? After a hard day of classes?” He teased mockingly, as he began to comically drag his feet behind her.

The rabbit turned back to him as she pushed the door open, and scowled. “It’s like, only half a kilometre away, Nick. Don’t be a kit.” She shook her head, as she continued picking up the pace.

Nick quickly didn’t have the opportunity to drag his feet, as he started walking normally to catch up to her side. “Fine. . . I’m buying this time, though.” He added, raising a finger defiantly as he walked right by her side, smiling down at her.

“Well, I’m not going to argue with that.” She responded, as they walked to the sidewalk by the road, and started heading in the direction of the nearby town. Lots of recruits went to the down now and again since it was so close. But, Nick himself had only visited it a few times.

“So, where are we going?” He asked, looking at the rabbit with a smile. 

“It’s a nice little family-owned restaurant, I went there a few times when I was at the academy. I don’t know how their predator food is, but their herbivore stuff is great.” She spoke cheerfully, as they walked down the sidewalk.

“Hey, foxes are omnivores. As long as they have a fruit platter, with blueberries, I’ll be able to survive just fine.” He teased back, as he winked at the rabbit.

She rolled her eyes. “So. . . You’ve been at the Academy for a while now. And, it’ll be a bit before we get there. I want you to tell me _everything_.” The rabbit asked as they padded their way down the road.

As if somehow, he hadn’t texted her everything as it was, of course. However, he guessed that was way different than talking in person. . . “Well, buckle in then, because I have some wonderful stories to tell you. . .” He muttered, as his brain scrambled of where to start.

“Really? Oh god, that must’ve been awful to hear. . .” Judy grimaced, as she took another bite of her carrot cake. Just the reaction Nick had expected when he started the story of the unkind buffalo. There weren’t many other appropriate reactions to that scenario.

Nick laughed, as he cut a piece of his blueberry pie with his fork. They’d talked about him for quite some time, all the way through the main course, and onto the desert. He enjoyed their battered and fried beetles, and she must have enjoyed the veggie stew. It was all gone.

Nick didn’t usually order dessert. He didn’t even want this pie if he was honest. He was shovelling it into himself forcefully, knowing that there was barely enough room in his stomach for a pea.

But he didn’t want this night to end. It’d been so long since he saw her smile at his jokes. Heard her laugh. Or scowl. Or admonish him. He didn’t even understand why he missed her so much, just so long as she was here. Texts didn’t count, phone calls didn’t count, not even video chats he thought would matter.

This. This was where it was at. Eating dessert, with his best friend. He lifted the cut piece to his mouth, and readily forced it in and chewed it, happily.

As he swallowed, he smiled at her. Luckily, if all they did was talk about him, there was an untapped resource for the rest of the night. . . “So, how has FTO training been going for Ms. Carrots?” He asked playfully, as he cut another chunk off. But he let it sit on the plate for a minute, as he grinned at the rabbit.

If he ate all of his too fast, she’d feel like she needed to rush hers, and then everything would be over too soon. Not acceptable. Was he overthinking this? Maybe?

She laughed. “Well, if you want to be bored, we can talk about that.”

“Bore me, rabbit.” He teased, as he readied his fork to stab the piece. Slowly.

She rolled her eyes. “Okay then, but you asked for it. . . We’ve been covering a whole bunch stuff about how to be a good field training officer, and, it’s pretty boring stuff, really. How to give constructive criticism, how to write performance reports, how not to. . . be too friendly with your trainee-“

“Wait, what?” Nick interrupted, brow raised comically as the slice of pie slowly slid off of his fork. Why was not being friendly with your trainee part of the course?

She laughed, as he gaped at her with an amused expression. “Yeah, it’s one of the courses. Well, not really, it’s more an overarching FTO/Trainee relations course. How to be a friend and a mentor, but not be in a situation where you’re unable to give proper critiques. But, that’s the synopse. Apparently, it’s a big issue sometimes.”

Nick shook his head, chuckling to himself. "Well, I don’t think I have much to worry about in that department. You’re pretty mean to me as it is.” He teased, as she smirked at him.

“You earn it, most of the time.” She retorted as she took another bite of her carrot cake.

Nick nodded, unable to argue with that point. “What else are you learning? I take it Wolfard is a good teacher?” He asked as he retrieved the slightly ruined piece of pie that had impacted the plate unceremoniously. It was still edible, right?

She sighed, shaking her head. “Well, I just found out a few days ago that this isn’t just an ‘FTO’ course. They’re making me take the Sergeant’s Exam. . . And, they’re going to promote me accordingly.” July spoked, as she looked at the cake with an unsure gaze.

Nick cocked his head to the side. She was getting a promotion. . . And, she was looking at the table with that expression? Why? “That’s. . . Good, isn’t it? Aren’t you happy?”

She nodded, as she looked up at him with a slightly faked smile. “Yeah, I am. It’s just, pretty sudden. . . Usually, officers don’t get promoted this fast. And, it’s a lot of responsibility.”

“But they’ve got good reason to promote you, right?” He asked, watching her as she frowned.

And then, she nodded. “They do. They argued that point very well. . . And, it’s the only way I can be your FTO, so, I want it. It’s just pretty sudden.”

“Yeah, but you’ve mastered everything life has thrown at you so far. . . I’m sure you’ll do great. . . And hey, you’ll be making more money then, right? When’s the promotion?” The fox asked as he tried to ease her out of her concerns.

She smiled at him, his words helping somewhat. “As soon as I’m done my training, in the next few weeks. . . And yeah, I’ll be making more money then, so, that’s pretty good. . . . I might as well go with it, right? Besides, I think I’m the only one who can keep you in line. . . I think no one else could take you being a thorn in their side.”

He laughed, as she giggled at her joke. Success, she was happier. “You’re damn right, Carrots. Although, good luck with that one. With you getting a promotion, I plan to be an even bigger thorn, _Sergeant_ Carrots.” He taunted, as he sliced off another piece.

“I’m not a Sergeant yet, Nick. . . But, thanks. . . I’ll ride your ass even harder then.” She mocked back, as he shook his head.

“How’s working with Wolfard been?” He asked as they continued to slowly eat their desserts. 

They chatted into the late hours of the night when the shop owner kicked them out (but, kindly). That was fair, it was pretty dark out. As they walked back up to the dormitory, a sudden thought crossed Nick’s mind. Where was Judy supposed to stay tonight? It was nearly midnight. . .

“So, are you staying somewhere in town tonight?” He asked, curiously, as they stood by the glass front entry doors. A small, yellow light illuminated them, in the darkness of the night. “Because, if you don’t work tomorrow, we could probably do something fun tomorrow. I don’t have any class or anything.”

She cocked her head to the side, smiling up at him. “Sorry, Nick, but unfortunately I can’t. I’ve got to get back on the road to Zootopia. Wolfard is going to be giving me a review tomorrow around noon, unfortunately. Knowing this is my sergeant’s exam has. . . Kind of shifted a lot of weight on studying.” The rabbit concluded as she shrugged.

“Oh. . . Fair enough. Wait, you _drove_ here?” He narrowed his eyes. “You have a car now? Or, did you rent one?”

Judy was never one for renting things, as far as Nick knew. “Yeah, well. . . The promotion thought kind of made me go out and. . . finance a used car.” She said, as she shrugged and pointed to a small little car in the nearby parking lot. Fitting in that would be. . . interesting for the fox. But, probably not impossible.

Nick glared at her, narrowing his eyes at the offensive rabbit. “You mean. . . We could’ve driven to the restaurant. And you made me walk?” He mockingly scoffed, as he turned away and crossed his arms. “I’m so hurt, Carrots.”

“Considering the pie you ate, you should be glad I made you walk!” She responded as she punched his gut. He laughed, as his body rocked back and forth slightly. As if that pie would matter, the next time Freidkin ran them.

“Hey, am I not entitled to a little dessert now and then, Carrots? You’re the one who got carrot cake.” He retorted, shaking his head at her.

She crossed her arms and frowned at him. “You’ve still got blueberry gunk on your lips.”

He stared back at her, narrowing his eyes as he licked one side of his muzzle. He didn’t taste anything.

“The other side, fox.” She said, shaking her head.

He repeated the process, finding just the smallest chunk of blueberry filling. . . Wow, she had to be staring pretty hard at him to have noticed that. Silly bunny. “Better?”

“Cleaner. I don’t know about better, it’s still your mug after all.” She muttered, shaking her head.

“Har-har, Carrots. Are you going to keep mocking me all night?” He returned fire.

“Not at all.” She spoke, softly and sweetly. The fox’s brows raised, curious at the change until the rabbit suddenly pirouetted, facing her bunny-but towards him. “I’m leaving now.” She muttered as she began to walk away.

Eyes trained on her flicking tail, it took half a second for Nick to realize he was staring, as he yanked his gaze back up. “Hey!” He called at her, causing her to pause and look over her shoulder.

He held his arms out wide, a grin forming on his muzzle. “No hug goodbye?” He asked, tilting his head to the side as his ears perked towards her.

She looked the fox over carefully. . . Before she shrugged. “Nah. You’ll get one after you graduate.” She retorted, as she turned around and continued walking away. She waved back at him absently. “Bye, fox! I’ll visit soon if I get a chance.” She chimed, as she headed for her car.

He snorted and waved back at her. Pointlessly, since she didn’t seem to turn around to see it. “Bye, rabbit. . .” He nearly whispered to himself, as he turned and opened the dormitory door. He walked down the hall, and towards his bedroom.

To his surprise. . . The bedroom door was open already. He stepped inside and looked around.

There was the buffalo, leaning on his desk with a rather. . . curious, concerned expression on his face. And, a fifth of liquor in his hands. As the fox stepped, in, the buffalo turned to him with that same surprised expression.

“Oh, Nick!” The buffalo spoke, as he stood up straighter. The big bovine smiled at him, somewhat nervously.

Nick smiled back, as he tilted his head to the side. “Hey, Bill. . . Did the party end already?” He asked, fully suspecting the answer was no. The bovine was holding a bottle of whisky in his hands. Clearly, the party was not supposed to be over yet.

Surprisingly, the buffalo didn’t seem that drunk. . . “No, not at all! I, uh, was going out to pick up some more liquor.” He responded as he lifted the obvious bottle. Obviously. . . “And, I needed to grab some. . . things, from my room, while I was out. . . I-I didn’t drive, our DD did.” He clarified, luckily. Although, as far as Nick knew, he walked there.

How much did Nick want to bet that the ‘thing that he’d come back for was condoms? Probably pretty high. . . Well, at least he was getting lucky. “Oh, well, that’s good I suppose.” Nick responded as he walked over to his bed. Given that he’d be thrown out of the academy for drinking and driving, the fox was pretty sure that he was telling the truth.

Of course, he’d also be in trouble for bringing alcohol into the dorm. . . But Nick was pretty sure that the bottle was leaving with him, and would be gone by morning. “Hey, um, if you want, you can come back to the party with us. Everyone’s still having fun, and we’ll probably be going for a while longer still.”

Nick smiled, shrugging as Bill looked at him. “Nah, I’m pretty tired. . . I already had my fun for the evening. Thanks for the offer, though. You go have fun.” The fox responded as he yawned and stretched. He was a bit tired. . . Despite being so high energy when Judy was with him. . . Eh, not important.

“Alright. Well, have a good night.” The bull said as he walked toward the door. Nick looked at the laptop, still sitting on the desk. Did he want to bother with continuing that search? Eh, nah. . . At least he remembered the wolf’s name now.

“Hey, Nick. . .” The bull asked, standing by the door with the knob in his hand. “I have a question if you don’t mind. . .” Bill spoke, piquing Nick’s curiosity as he turned to face the bull.

What could he want to ask? Nick grinned, as he shrugged. “No problem, go ahead.” He muttered as he leaned against the desk with his hip. Whatever it was, it was probably banal-

“That, bunny. . . Is she your girlfriend? I’m sorry, I saw you two talking through the front doors, and, I was. . . Curious. No judgement!” He hurriedly added, raising the hoof with the bottle in it. Nick blinked in surprise, as he thought about that.

Him? Judy? Dating? Well, it must have looked kind of like that, didn’t it? He shook his head, as he slily grinned at the buffalo. “No, nothing like that. . . We’re just good friends. She’s the reason I’m in this mess.”

“Oh. . .” The buffalo spoke, with a nod. “I see. Sorry for intruding-“

“No problem, it was a fair question.” The fox interjected with a shrug.

“Ah, right. . . Anyway, I guess I’ll see you tomorrow?” The buffalo spoke, clearly wanting to get out of this awkward interaction.

Nick nodded. “Yep, see you tomorrow.” He added, as the buffalo nodded and finally stepped out of the door, closing it behind him.

The fox chuckled, as he leaned against the desk. Him, a fox. And Judy, a rabbit. Dating. What a silly thought that was. . . Not that he didn’t find her attractive. No, quite the opposite, if he was honest with himself. Her adorable nose. Those beautiful ears. And that little twitching tail. Not to mention her personality, too, which always drove him up the wall with how smart and witty she was.

No, he definitely found that rabbit of the attractive sort. But, her, and him? In some kind of a relationship. That, that was ludicrous. He’d never imagine something like. . .

He looked down, instinctively, and immediately rolled his eyes. “ _Fuck_ , damn it.”

* * *

Nick stared at himself in the large mirror, slowly egarding the fox that stared right back at him. The orange fur, the green eyes. The cream-coloured underside. It was the same fox as before, wasn't it? Sure, there was now the blue uniform, black tie, tactical belt, and all the accoutrement of a real police officer. 

And, weirdly, a radio. Why were they given a radio on their belts? Not a clue, this was a ceremony. They weren't taking calls, let alone how were these radios even relevant, they stayed at the Academy. Maybe it was just to avoid having an empty pocket on the belt? Maybe. But, as an additional part of the uniform, there was the frilly, silly golden cord.

Now, Nick understood the point of the gold braid from a ceremonial perspective, draped over his shoulder in some regal fashion. It was supposed to be ‘Class A’ style ceremony, after all. Sure, he was certain that the braid probably had a real name. Some deeper meaning, linked to the past of the ZPD or something. It was probably told to him, too, at some point.

However, Nick didn’t care. To him, It was a golden braid thing. That was all. And sure, the uniform had changed, but, had the male within it? It was silly to ask, because he knew the answer. Nick Had changed. It was the same fox staring at him on the outside, but inside. . . He felt much different. Thanks to that sly bunny.

He’d made it to the end. The goalpost. Somehow, after everything that the academy had thrown at him, he’d survived. And, that was despite the fact that the Major had certainly made a concerted effort to drive him right into the ground. There were many challenges, physically and mentally, that he had faced in these six months. However, as Judy had told him, If you worked a problem with your brain rather than your brawn the solution was likely easier than you thought.

It was how Judy got through obstacle courses designed for animals a dozen times her size. Of course, Nick had one advantage over Judy. Simulations of Tundratown, and the Rainforest district, they were nothing compared to the real thing some days. When you actually get stuck in a blizzard, it was a whole nother thing to deal with. Nick had spent his entire life in that city, and had learned how to survive a long time ago. He had to, when he was on the street.

Now, the humongous criminal fight was an. . . Interesting event. It took Nick a while to figure out that he was quicker, and that was his best advantage. A huge animal exerts a lot of energy, and force trying to swing and whack a small creature. If that animal just waited, until the final second of that punch. . . Chances were, they were completely unbalanced by the time you got behind them. If you just 'kept' their momentum going for them, you could do some real damage.

Nick had learned a helpful principle on the street. If you can use your opponents against themselves, then you would always come out okay. Even if usually that meant playing two fools against each other, rather than one fool against gravity and inertia. But hey, it worked. 

And after all of that hard work, pantings, and strained muscles, he'd made it to this moment. It was time for graduation. 

It was time for him to receive that badge, pinned upon his chest and shining in the sun. At least, in a few minutes.

Judy had visited several times in the past few months, to Nick's pleasant surprise. _Sergeant_ Judy Hopps, anyway. As soon as her training was over, she visited nearly every week. And every time, they’d go out to eat and chat about how their lives were going. Apparently, that promotion had done very little to change who that bunny was. Much to Nick's. . . relief? Eh, he didn't know how to put it.

They chatted about everything. She talked about the people she and Wolfard had helped, the criminals that she had arrested, and all the fun bits of being a police officer. Like how Wolfard played pranks on her sometimes after she got promoted, and how they pranked others. Purely in good fun, of course.

They talked a lot when she visited. A lot, a lot. He spent several nights lying awake, happily thinking about their chats. And her. . . .But that wasn't the point. There was something that, despite the relevance, she had not talked to him about. Somehow, this had slipped the little bunny’s mind, or she actively chose not to. Nick knew better, he knew it was an active choice. Actively, she decided not to talk to him about this, even when he woke up this morning and received a morning text about her coming out to see his grad. She didn't say a thing, the dumb bunny.

Was that what she and the Major were talking about that one time before he’d come in? Maybe? It would make sense.

He looked down at the piece of paper again. The simple piece of paper, telling him that he was Valedictorian of the class troop. A hard-won honour, and one he didn't think he truly deserved. But, the paper also informed him that the special guest was going to be giving him his badge, on the stage after their speech.

That was fair enough when he first received this notice a few days ago. Major Friedkin had run him through what he’d have to do, and how to be professional about it. How he shouldn’t bring his hat as he wouldn’t get to throw it on stage. To brush your fangs, keep a straight tie. the regular stuff. All for the special guest, and that photo opportunity.

Normally, it was the mayor who would be giving the address. Or a retired officer. Or the Chief, who would be giving that speech. Standard practice, Nick had assumed.

However, when he’d been helping set up the stage earlier today, none of those were the name that he’d seen on the posters they’d put up at the lobby.

Instead, the posters said 'Sergeant Judith Hopps, Zootopia’s Hero'.

And Nick had gotten. . . Minorly miffed. The rabbit had intentionally failed to tell him about all this. . . And now, she was going to be pinning a badge on his chest. He knew she was already at the Academy, he'd seen her car in the parking lot up front. . . He just didn't know where.

“Sly bunny.” He spoke softly to the mirror, as he smiled at his reflection. Or rather, at the image of the rabbit in his head. She had such moxie. She could clap back at whatever he threw at her, and keep coming back for more. But now, he didn't know what to do about this little secret. How was he ever going to get her back for this transgression?

The door clicked open, and the Major stuck her head in and looked around. Nick turned to look at her, just as she smiled down at the fox. One of the first times he’d seen such a smile on her face, Nick imagined. Well, a smile that she let him see, anyway.

“Up an’ at ‘em, Wilde. Show starts in 15 minutes. If you’re not there, I’mma make you start this whole course from the beginning.” She spoke, slightly gruff but no longer with the anger of before.

He smiled, and nodded.

“You know who’s speaking today, don’t you?” She asked as she let the door swing open. He nodded, slightly shaking his head.

“Yeah. . . Y’know, that rabbit never told me. . .” He mused as he shrugged.

The polar bear shook her head, chuckling. “Sounds like a regular Hopps thing to me. C’mon, let’s get going.” She said as she gestured out the door with her head.

Nick nodded, as he grabbed his Snarlbucks coffee from the table, and slipped his sunglasses on.

The polar bear frowned at him. “Hey, I’m a fox. I’ve got sensitive eyes. . . And the rules were no hat, not no coffee.” He responded to the frown, as he began walking toward the door. The Major rolled her eyes and began walking down the hall

“You’d better take those damn glasses off, and put that cup in the trash _before_ you get on the stage. . . Or else-“

“Will do, Major.” He needed to look good for the photo with Judy, after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To address any questions about Fangmeyer, they are called 'they' by Judy and Wolfard because that is how they choose to identify. Looking at the 'no gender' in the wiki, I found this to be the perfect solution, as well as a perfect moment to have some inclusivity in this story. I realize that Wolfard is also ungendered so far in the canon, but, he has his own. . . Secrets, here.
> 
> Let's talk about the Reid technique. It rose from an interrogation technique used by some dude named Reid, who used it in 1955 to get a confession from a man for murdering his wife. He wrote papers about it, was celebrated in media, and even designed a business in teaching his technique to other officers. It is commonly used in the US, and is standard practice for several police departments interrogations.
> 
> Except, the confession that popularized the method in 1955, was later revealed to have been a false confession. The man had recanted his confession a day later, but was never listened to until another man confessed to the murder later. In spite of this, the technique remains popular. And, in honesty, it can indeed work sucessfully. But, the false confession rate is too high. Meanwhile, proper use of the PEACE model is the only acceptable interview in England. And you know what? It actually works, PEACEFULLY.
> 
> There are several people who may be in prison today, wrongly, due to the Reid technique. Most of these cases are only revealed thanks to DNA evidence, and some investigations contain no DNA evidence. With a 'high' failure rate (Anything above '10%' is unacceptable to me, and it's rate is way higher than that), one has to ask why it's considered acceptable anywhere at all.


	6. Past the doors, a story begins

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _“If you need to go to the bathroom after this next series of chapters, please let a writing associate know, because in all likelihood, whatever comes out of you is going to be rainbows. Only temporary, so do not worry. If it persists for a week, though, start worrying and come see us, because that's not supposed to happen.”_  
>  -Furry Johnson
> 
> Black Lives Matter. BIPOC Lives Matter. I am deeply interested in the BIPOC run Furry Con being developed by @kind7ed, @PIBBLEBITCH, and @sailorrooscout, who ran a fundraiser that raised $9,000! I probably won't go, cuz I broke introverted Canadian. . . But, I support it wholeheartedly! The protests ARENT OVER though, and Black Lives Matter still has a long way to go to get what they need most!
> 
> And, LGBTQIA2+ Rights Matter! Yes, Pride month is over. But, I'm a prideful bitch, for a straight cis furry, so, Imma keep supporting all LGBTQIA2+ people regardless, because you deserve a year of pride, not just a month. TRANS RIGHTS MATTER!
> 
> 5th Peelian Principle: To seek and preserve public favour, not by pandering to public opinion, but by constantly demonstrating absolutely impartial service to law, in complete independence of policy, and without regard to the justice or injustice of the substance of individual laws, by ready offering of individual service and friendship to all members of the public without regard to their wealth or social standing, by ready exercise of courtesy and friendly good humour, and by ready offering of individual sacrifice in protecting and preserving life.
> 
> See, this is one that's been so fucked for so long, it's no longer funny. It's also somewhat 'contradictory' if you consider the pandering element, but, let's boil this principle down to it's root; 'To demonstrate impartial service independant of policy', IE, ignore your Department's policies if they are not impartial. Yeah, no one does that today, look at the stop and frisk policies being used. 'Without regard to the justice or injustice of the substance of individual laws' Yeah, let's forget this part. When you have laws being designed to infringe on other's rights, then those laws should be null. 'by ready offering of individual service and friendship to ALL members of the public, without regard', YEAH, WITHOUT REGARD. LETS CLARIFY THAT MEANS WITHOUT REGARD TO RACE, RELIGION, ETHNICITY, SEXUALITY, GENDER IDENTITY, AND ETC. I like the friendship part. . . Anyone talk to a cop that was a jackass, square one? No one likes you, officer. 'Ready excercise of courtesy and friendly good humour'. Cops need to excercise their courtesy and friendly humour, it's weak AF. 'Ready offering of individual sacrifice in protecting and preserving life'. Individual sacrifice to preserve life. That INCLUDES THE LIVES OF 'CRIMINALS'. YES. YES IT DOES. Because it doesn't matter if they've committed a crime, they are still a living person worthy of respect (Although, rapists and pedophiles are treading a very thin line of mine. . .).
> 
> This chapter is a little story filler, as we prepare to keep moving forward. That, coupled with a few story hints, and some relationship building. I hope you all like it!
> 
> Disney owns everyhing. Just, everything. Take it all.

That smile. That, was something else. 

And the way she looked at him when she pinned the little piece of metal on his chest, with those eyes. He knew that he should have been happier about the badge, about the achievement he’d worked so hard to get. But to Nicholas Wilde, the look on Judy’s face was worth far more than the shiny shield.

Even if it _was_ a nice shiny shield, hanging on his uniform. Even it made him a part of something bigger than himself. None of that mattered in comparison. That look of. . . Pride? Happiness? Compassion? It was probably a lot of things. But, it made him feel. . . . goopy inside. Well, that also probably wasn’t a good word. . . But whatever, he couldn’t describe it.

It was strange, having someone believe in you like that. Maybe not strange for others, who always had people around them. But for Nick. . . It wasn’t that common. In fact, he didn’t remember anyone ever standing for him like she had. If it wasn’t for his mother, he wouldn’t have had anything at all.

Sure, there was Flash, and Finnick. But, those were friends, and they weren’t exactly the type to push Nick to ‘be’ anything. But that rabbit, on the other hand, pushed him in so many ways to be better than the fox he was yesterday. She was. . . Special.

He wasn’t going to tell her that, though. She had a big enough ego as it was.

As soon as the hats fell down, the picture was taken, and the ceremony evolved into a celebration. Nick had approximately three minutes to say ‘hi’ to the rabbit before they were surrounded by mammals. Fellow graduates, teachers, random officials, they all wanted to talk to the rabbit hero of Zootopia.

Especially his colleagues. They all wanted to know about ‘how’ she did it. What gave her the skill she had. All questions that Nick already knew the answer to. It was all because Judy was Judy. Nick quickly decided that was the time for him to dip out on the festivities, and slipped away from the growing crowd. She could enjoy her moment of attention, she’d more than earned it.

Bill gave him a pretty sidelong glance as he quickly slipped away. If Nick had to guess, the bull recognized Judy from that one night. It must have seemed strange, finding out that the rabbit he was friends with was ‘the’ rabbit officer from the news awhile back. Yeah, he knew Zootopia’s hero. Yeah, they were friends. No, that had nothing to do with him getting valedictorian.

At least, Nick hoped. It sure would be a kick to the balls to find out she’d somehow manipulated everything so that he got the title. But, it was a coincidence, right? Judy would never pull strings like that, she was a stickler for the rules. She probably accepted just for the chance of seeing his graduation, not actually pinning the badge on his chest. And, maybe she knew he was going to get it anyway since she probably talked to the instructors about him.

Still. . . Thinking back on that smile, he didn’t really care if she had ‘nudged’ the teachers into picking him. Or if it was some other kind of tokenism going on, what with him being the first fox. It was worth it, just for that moment of seeing her violet eyes look at him like that. And, to receive his badge, right from her paws.

After he’d skillfully slipped out of the crowd (a natural talent, for the fox), he made his way over to the student barracks to pack up his stuff. Everyone else could have their moment with Judy, and the celebration, but she was driving him back to Zootopia. He’d get his time with her, one way or another.

Besides, it was better than a bus ticket like how he got there. Noisy, rowdy, and smelly, it was a terrible time. And, it meant that he got to talk to her for at least an hour on the way home, all alone. Not that he was going to have issues with having time to hang out with her, they did live together, after all. And, they ‘might’ be partners, so, there was also that.

They’d be living together. . . That reminded him, he needed to get a new mattress. And some sheets. Maybe a pillow or two. And probably a bunch of things he’d only remember after he got home, knowing himself. Nick had basically abandoned all his bedroom accoutrements when he moved, probably wisely. He’d better mention that to Judy on the drive, or he’d have to sleep on the couch again.

Not that it was a bad couch. But, it wasn’t a bed.

There were at least a few mattress stores that would be open when they got to the city, it was only about 3 PM right now. Judy would probably be chatting with people for another hour, so they had lots of time. She had a nice 4-door car, it could fit a mattress box in the back just fine, right?

Probably. Or, Nick would find some way to strap it to the roof. Whatever, that was a problem for when they got back to Zootopia. Right now, he needed to finish packing up his stuff, and wait for Judy to finish.

Nick took off his tie, the gold braid, and the utility belt they’d been supplied, and stuffed them into the bag. Well, except the radio that he pried out of the belt, he left that on the desk. He still couldn’t get over how silly it was they even gave them radios for the ceremony. They were used for radio training, but during the ceremony they filled no purpose.

That was neither here nor there, though, as he took the badge off his shirt. Nick glanced at it, smiling at the tiny reflection of a fox in the shiny golden glean. His paws idly played with it, as his mind wandered. A shiny little badge, all because of that rabbit. Because she walked into an elephant ice cream parlour. He snorted, as he reached over to the little badge box he’d been given, and placed it inside. Gently, he placed the said box into the large bag and began undoing the buttons on his shirt.

If they were going to the store, he really didn’t want to be dressed to ‘impress’. Or, to get the shirt dirty, considering that it was still clean enough for his first shift. The less he had to wash, the happier the fox would be. He sloughed the shirt off his shoulders and stuffed it into the bag. Of course, he also just wanted to relax in some simple clothes, after standing for a few hours in those stuffy clothes.

He unbuttoned his pants and slipped them off in one smooth motion. Sure, the door wasn’t fully closed, but, when did that matter in the academy? His roommate wouldn’t be back for a while, and no one had any reason to come to his room in the barracks, so he wasn’t terribly worried about anyone walking in. Besides, whoever would, probably was adult enough to have seen far worse than a fox in his underwear.

Everyone was still busy celebrating, talking with instructors or likely planning a party or something. The little celebration had food, and some champagne, neither of which Nick was interested in. But, free food was such a draw for all of his troopmates. 

Still. . . Nick paused, holding the balled-up pants in his hand as his ears trained towards the ajar door. . . But, the large triangles picked up nothing but a breeze and the regular noises of the empty complex. He shrugged and turned back to his stuff.

After he crammed the pants into the bag, he pulled out a ZPD academy tee, and a pair of shorts. Simple and ‘elegant’, and somehow not destroyed after so many gym classes. The perfect ‘relaxed’ wear. If he was going to have to haul a mattress box around, he wanted something loose-fitting and comfortable.

He pulled the shorts on quickly, hopping around on one paw like a fool. They were a nice dark blue with little grey accents. Not exactly ‘fashionable’, like Nick preferred. But it was either this or his dress pants and Pawaiian shirts. And, he didn’t feel like wearing the one pair he’d brought the day he came here. He’d worn that one too many times lately.

As he squeezed his way into the shirt, his ears caught a whisper of sound as they were flopped around by the fabric. At first, he thought it was just caused by the shirt rubbing his ears, but it continued to persist as he slipped his head through the collar. His ears popped up, free of the collar, and he heard the distinct sound of the door behind him creaking open.

Yanking the bottom of the shirt down, he turned to face the interloper with a curious expression. Was it Bill? Maybe an instructor? It’s not like it was a big-

It was Judy. _Of course it’s Judy._. He snorted.

The rabbit was standing at the door, smirking as he pulled the hem of his shirt down snugly. “Carrots.” He murmured, smirking. How much had she seen? “Aren’t you missing out on your adulation?” He teased, as he crossed his arms with a smug grin. He didn’t know how long she’d been there, but if there was one thing he knew about Judy. . . She tended to appear whenever he least expected it. It was her trademark, wasn’t it?

Judy chuckled, as she stepped into the room and shrugged. “What good is it if you’re not there to kiss my paws, too?” The rabbit taunted, holding a paw up and looking at it with a smug expression as she played with her little claws. “Besides, things got a little weird when I started telling your classmates about how you were integral to cracking the case. . . Meanwhile, you skittered off and left me there. Alone. With, like, a thousand people questioning me.

Nick laughed, somewhat nervously. The troop wasn’t nearly that big, but, he got her point. “Yeah. . .Well, I knew you were going to tell them that ‘story’, so, I figured I’d take off before they started kissing my paws instead, y’know? Don’t want to steal the Hero of Zootopia’s thunder.” He continued the tease, as the rabbit walked closer to him. 

Sure, that sounded like a reasonable reason for him slipping off, didn’t it? She shook her head, letting out a sigh. “We did it together, Nick. You deserve that title, too. I’m still mad that the headlines just called you a ‘fox civilian’. . . You were so much more than that.”

Nick laughed, shaking his head. “It’s fine, Carrots. I know I’m awesome, you know I’m awesome, that’s enough for me. But, the sentiment’s nice.”

She snorted. “Never mind, I take it back. Your ego’s big enough as it is. . . . . . Still. You made it, Nick. You’re now an officer, of the ZPD. How do you feel?”

He shrugged. “Hungry, to be honest.” The fox joked, as he grabbed his laptop from the desk and stuffed it into the bag, ‘finishing’ the last of his packing. Well, unless he forgot something, as he gazed around the room.

It was sort of a joke. He was actually a little hungry. . . But, the last thing he wanted to talk about was how he felt.

“Well, if you hurry your foxy ass up, maybe we could do something about that on our way home. But, I meant about graduating. . . How do you feel?.” She mocked, as she began to tap her hind paw on the ground exaggeratingly. He rolled his eyes, as he went back to his bag and zipped it closed.

He slung it over his shoulder and turned back to the rabbit. To his surprise, the rabbit was closer and gazing up at him with that same smile, and those big violet eyes.

The fox felt his voice catch in his throat, as his head rocked back and forth slightly. He eased into a smirk with half lidden eyes. “Good, I think. I don’t think it’s fully sunk in yet. . . I keep expecting Freidkin to run in, tell me I’m only half done or something.”

She snorted. “Well, now it’s my turn to yell at you, slick. I hope you’re ready for it.”

“So, business as usual, then?” He teased back, as the rabbit shook her head.

Judy sighed, as she crossed her arms. Then, she lowered her gaze, dragging it across his body until her gaze locked on the shorts. Instinctively, he looked down to see if ‘anything’ was showing, or something was stained. But, when he saw nothing, he looked back up at the rabbit, who was now looking him in the eye again. “What?” He asked, cocking his head to the side.

“So much for hating shorts, hm?” She asked, smirking at him with that adorable face as she stepped to the side of the room. Clearly, that was her way of telling him that it was time to go.

He sighed, as he started walking towards the door. “I know, it’s a hideous affront to my wonderful body. However, I’m comfortable, so fuck it. . .” Judy shrugged in response, as she smirked up at him. “Are you sure you don’t want to stay and get some more praise from all your fans?”

She shook her head, “No, I’m good. I talked to my instructors, gave a little time to the recruits, and that fulfilled my part of the ceremony. Unless you want to go back? I’m sure your troopmates have a lot of questions for you, since you know the famous ‘Hero of Zootopia’. . .” The rabbit spit out the term dismissively. She didn’t think she was a hero. She just did as she was supposed to do, as a police officer. “Besides, I get to drive home with my ‘biggest’ fan. . . I’m sure he can shower me with adulation just fine.” She teased, grinning at him.

Nick definitely didn’t want to go back to that crowd, especially answering questions about whether or not they were dating, like Bill. He was sure that she’d hate that, too. That was. . . Too awkward to talk about, especially in front of Judy. 

As for him being her biggest fan. . . Certainly not, there were many animals much larger than him that were fans of the rabbit. But he had to admit, he liked her hutzpah. “So, where are we going to eat?” He muttered, quickly changing the subject as he passed her and walked through the door.

She laughed, as she reached out and tugged on the fox’s passing tail. Nick yipped, as his head whipped around to face her with a glare. “Well. . . I was thinking of going to Renaud’s Kitchen. Do you think you can tough out your hunger for that long?” She responded, as she let go of his tail and walked up to his side.

He was still frowning at her, as they started walking down the hall together. She was smirking, naturally. The rabbit always loved her teasing. But, at the mention of Renaud’s, a smile had begun to infect Nick’s face. As great as that little mom-and-pop shop was in the nearby town, there was just something special about that diner back home.

He missed that cricket burger, so much. And, of course, the ever-boisterous Annette. Maybe Delilah, too. “Now that’s an idea I can get behind. . . Maybe we could pick up a snack for on the way?” Nick asked as he leaned toward the bunny beside him as they exited the structure. “Since it’s going to be at least an hour or so of a drive. Don’t want me eating you by accident, right?”

“Hah!” Judy responded, rolling her eyes. “As if it would be an ‘accident’.”

Nick laughed. “True. . . You’re pretty irresistible, fluff.”

“Shut up, Nick.”

The drive back to Zootopia had been filled with comedy and gentle teasing back and forth. As it always was, as if somehow all that time, six months apart, had somehow changed nothing in their lives.

However.

Nick had suddenly become very fond of the idea of time apart.

In fact. He could go for some right now, sitting across from the rabbit.

While he sat there.

Chin to paw, leaning on his arm, scowling heavily.

As Delilah, his relatively related flesh and blood.

A confidant. A friend. A family member he trusted.

Betrayed him like he was some common mammal, as she brought up some of the most embarrassing shit that Nick had ever done, while her and the rabbit laughed at him mercilessly.

Okay, maybe he still wanted to be around the rabbit. But, right now, he was being subjected to an onslaught of laughter at his foolish, young self.

Yes, he’d once stuck a fork into an electric socket when he was 16. Yes, he once blatantly lied to his parents about the ‘adult’ magazines they had found underneath his bed, claiming that he didn’t know how they got there. Yes, he once wrote a long love letter to a vixen in high school and then dropped it in the wrong locker (That one smarted). And yes, there was that one time when he actually set fire to a piece of pizza with a microwave.

But why Delilah decided to tell the rabbit all of these things, he didn’t get. But, worst of all, it wasn’t like he could just shoo Delilah away and stop this from happening. No, the damage had been done. The two were _reminiscing_ about the stories, as the rabbit had made it a custom to come here to eat every now and then.

And Delilah spilled the beans on everything. Now, he had to sit here and listen as Delilah continued to ask if she’d told Judy each story. “I mean, I really wish I had a picture of his tail after that. It was like, twice as poofy as it is now. We didn’t even care if he was okay, we were just laughing as he was twitching on the floor!”

“I was in _pain_ , Delilah. As one would expect from an electric shock.” He muttered, shaking his head. “Is our food done yet? Do you have some other customers that you might want to torture?”

The fox sneered at her, causing the vixen to shake her head with a smirk. “I’m on a break.” She lied. A break in the middle of the dinner rush? Nick knew better than that. Judy laughed, as she looked over at her friend, the fox.

“It’s okay, Nick, we all do silly things when we’re young.” She offered, clearly ignoring the fact that it was only okay because it was about Nick, and not her. If the shoe were on the other foot, Nick was certain that Judy wouldn’t feel so happy about everything.

Nick didn’t know anything of Judy’s childhood, this was completely one-sided torture. And because of that, Judy thought it was ‘okay’ to keep digging it in, on his one day of celebration.

“Aren’t we here to celebrate my accomplishment? Not shaming me?” He spoke, raising his voice with a smile as he tried to change the subject. That was the pretence of why they came to the diner, right?

The two mammals came right here after he picked up a mattress at the nearest open store. Nick didn’t spend a lot of time trying to figure out which was ‘right’ for him. He liked a firm mattress, so, he picked one right away. You could always put tops on a firm mattress to make it softer. The other way around never worked. 

Unfortunately, they had to fold the back seats down in the car and play a little game of whose seat had to move forward (Nick’s. . . of course), but in the end, the box did fit in snugly. It always amazed him that they could fit an entire mattress in such a small box. Well, a foam mattress at least.

The vixen chuckled, as she shook her head looking at the defeated tod. “But, I mean, that’s the point! We have to keep you humble. It’s hard to imagine that the same kit who accidentally sheared his muzzle is also now a responsible adult, in charge of keeping everyone safe. Gee, I hope whisker clippers aren’t a regular police tool. . .”

Nick’s eyes narrowed, as the rabbit started laughing. As if this would possibly make him humble. . . Nick was perfect, and he knew it. He opened his mouth to respond before the lagomorph he formally considered his close friend decided to interrupt.

“W-wait, he did what!?” She choked out between laughs. Before Nick could open his mouth to interrupt, the vixen turned back to face the rabbit with a swish of her tail.  
“It was hilarious. He’d seen how his dad always kept his whiskers nice and trimmed in the photos, so, he thought he’d do the same with his little ‘baby’ ones. But, instead of just cutting them, he ended up shaving off all the fur on the end of his muzzle! His mother screamed when she saw that!” Delilah told the embarrassing tale, as Nick let out a huff. He was like, six or something, he didn’t know any better. The amount of teasing he suffered for the next few months after. And now, his best friend was laughing at him.

“Poor little Nick. . . Well, at least you know your way around them now, right?” Judy asked, attempting to somehow put a positive spin on his humility. As if that would work. . .

Wait. . . Delilah wasn’t even born then. . . “How do you know that story, Delilah?” Nick asked as he cocked his head to the side. Who was ratting on him? Was it Finnick? Flash?

“Oh, your mother told me a while ago!” Delilah chimed back, laughing.

Nick’s heart sank at the mention of his mother, and he saw as Delilah caught it. And, her humorous smile faded slightly, as she looked Nick in the eye.

“. . . Have you told her about your graduation, Nicky?” She asked as the rabbit glanced between the two.

He smiled and shook his head. “Not yet. But, I will.” He lied, knowing full well that he wasn’t going to for a long, long time. There were. . . issues with that. . . The last time they’d talked, he was a petty criminal.

The vixen nodded, understanding. They had talked about the rift between his mom and him a few times. Although mostly, it had been Delilah encouraging him to reach out again. As if it was something so easy as that. “See that you do, Nick. . . I’m sure she’d be ecstatic to know.”

Judy continued to glance back and forth, as she raised a brow. “Is somethi-“

“Hey, Delilah! You ain’t on a break, sweetie! Orders 10 and 11 are up!” Annette shouted from the kitchen window, as she set two plates down on the counter with a glare.

“Shit, sorry!” Delilah shouted back, as she horridly departed the table. Nick sighed, as he turned back to face the rabbit, smiling at her.

But, Judy had a curious expression on her look, as one ear cocked to the side. “Do you and your mother have a. . . Complicated relationship?” She blatantly asked as she played with her paws absently. She always was a direct rabbit, wasn’t she?

He smiled and shook his head. “No, nothing like that. We talk often, but we’re not really a family that usually shares what’s going on in our personal lives. What with my. . . Past activities. . . It always seemed better to keep her out of it, than tell her. Kind of a habit, I guess.” He told the half-truth, as he smiled at the rabbit and hoped she would drop it. Yeah, he didn’t talk about his daily life with his mother because he was a criminal for a lot of the time.

But, the main reason was a little more complicated than that.

She regarded him carefully for a moment before she smiled. “Well. . . I think you should tell her. I don’t know her, but, I’m sure she’d love to see her son in a police uniform.”

Nick laughed, as he took a sip from the glass of water on the table. He shook his head, with an impish grin. “Somehow I doubt that. There’s only one thing that goes through my mother’s mind, trust me. I’d bet ten to one that her response would be ‘that’s great, but have you found a vixen yet? Where are my grandkits? I want grandkits, damnit. Why aren’t you producing’?” The fox mocked, twisting his voice into a very inaccurate portrayal of his mother. But hey, it was funny.

Judy snorted, laughing as she rolled her eyes. “That sounds familiar, it’s like half of me and my parent’s conversations. ‘Have you found a boyfriend yet’, ‘have you met some potential candidates yet’, ‘are there any hot bucks working at the ZPD’. Is that just the purpose of kids, to them? To have more little ones for them to dote on?”

Nick snorted, as he relaxed back into the seat. “At least your parents have like, 200 other kits to bother about it. My mother, she’s focused every inch of her effort on convincing me that having kids is the ‘best thing in life’. For the last, I don’t know. . . 14 years? I think she’s starting to think I’m a lost cause. Or, about to lose my ‘ability’. . .”

Judy shook her head, as she lifted a paw and shook a digit at him. “You’d think that my parents would give me a break, but, you’re wrong. My mother has grand kits already from my older siblings, but none of that matters to her. No, she wouldn’t be satisfied until she has grand kits from _everyone_. In my humble opinion, I think the ‘Hopps’ family will live on without my contribution, thank you very much.” Clearly, this was a topic that Judy could go on and on about. Good to know. . .

Nick laughed, shaking his head. At least they were off the topic of his relationship with his mother. Hopefully. . . “You know, that’s something I don’t understand. . . How in the world do they keep all of those names straight?”

“Well, it’s simple, my parents had a system of naming that-“ The rabbit started, before he raised his paw.

“Ah, no thanks. I’m sure it’s interesting, but, I’m pretty sure ‘Judy’ is the only Hopps name I need to know right now.”

She snorted. “Sure. What’ll it take to get you to say my name, _to me_ , hmm?”

“We’ll find out, won’t we, fluff?”

* * *

“So, should I expect a disaster when I get there?” Nick asked as the fox carried the mattress over to the door. “Did you manage to destroy the apartment in six months?”

Judy laughed, shaking her head as she opened the door, and held it open for the fox to step through with the box. As he stepped through, he’d be able to see that she kept it clean, if not even cleaner than before.

Sure, there was nothing that she could do about the funky wallpaper. The ugly popcorn ceiling, and the putrid green tile in the kitchen and bathroom. She couldn’t even fix the wood floor’s scars. But, the wood floor looked pretty good after she gave it a good cleaning, even with the imperfections. It even gave it some charm, she thought.

“As you can see, I didn’t. And, I’m expecting you to finish the job you started.” She teased, as she gestured to the TV stand.

The cords were still everywhere, as she never bothered to fix it. Partly because she didn’t want to. But, mostly because looking down at the mess of cords always made her chuckle, and remember the poor fox struggling to figure it out.

And, she liked laughing about it in that lonely apartment. Judy didn’t mind being in her little apartment alone, it was perfect for that. But, in the large apartment, it felt quite empty some days. And, as a rabbit who came from a large family, an empty house always felt weird.

But now, it wasn’t going to be empty anymore. Now, it was going to have this ridiculous fox in it.

“Hmm, well, it looks like you didn’t burn the place down. . . So, guess there’s that.” The fox teased, grinning as he dragged the cardboard box toward his bedroom. Judy would complain about him dragging it across the floor. . . But, she’d just make him clean it next time.

She rolled her eyes. “Har-har. . . You’re going to want to unpack that thing right-“

“I know, I know, Carrots. . . I think I can figure out how to ‘mattress’ just fine.” The fox muttered as he walked into his room. She followed, and leaned on the door frame as he laid the box down, and began to open it up.

“So. . . Are you ready to start on Monday?” She asked as he worked on pulling the large foam block out of the bag. Since Bogo had already agreed to Judy being his FTO, it put his start date on the day that her shifts resumed. Which, luckily for him, gave him one day off.

At least he’d get a chance to try out his mattress properly, as he unrolled it on top of the bed frame. It was a decently sized bed for Judy, but for Nick, she imagined he might have thought it was small, compared to the one he had before.

But, that was the frame that the apartment came with, and Judy had learned that Nick was nothing if not frugal. Nick shrugged, as he cut the big plastic cover off of the mattress. Almost instantly, the mattress started to expand, ever so slightly. “Yeah, I’d say I’m ready. Wouldn’t matter if I wasn’t would it?” He said with a grin, as he bundled up the plastic and threw it back into the box.

“No, it really wouldn’t.” She murmured, as she set the bag with his new pillow and sheets down on the ground beside the door. “Don’t worry, Nick. I’ll take care of you.” She teased, grinning at him.

He raised his brows, a slight grin appearing as he walked over to the two boxes with his stuff in it, from back when they first moved in. He popped open the first box and looked inside. “Whatever you say, Carrots. . . I see you’ve been rooting through here.” He murmured, as he turned and smirked at the rabbit. “What. . . Hoping to find some toys, or maybe a few, ‘magazines’?”

Judy shook her head. “No, remember when I asked you where the whisks were? I grabbed all the kitchen stuff in the box and washed it.”

Nick scoffed, lifting a paw to his chest. “How dare you violate my privacy. I feel so. . . Offended. You’ve hurt me, rabbit.” He moaned, exaggeratingly, as he raised a paw to his forehead in mocked distress.

She rolled her eyes, as she stood up straighter. “Mhm, I ruined your whole day, right after you gave me permission to do it.”

“I should have put a rabbit porn mag in there, just to see your reaction.” He teased, as he set that box down, and opened the one with clothes in it. He pulled the clothes out and walked towards the dresser, head craned to watch the rabbit curiously.

Judy rolled her eyes, trying to detract from the blush that formed in her ears. That would have been. . . strange. “It wouldn’t surprise me, honestly. Considering how easy it was to manipulate you into doing my bidding when we first met.” She mocked back, as she turned and headed back into the living room. “Have fun unpacking. I’m going to order some food.”

“Mhm.” Nick responded as he stuffed the clothes into the drawer haphazardly. The rabbit would cook. . . But, one thing she was bad at was grocery shopping. She usually picked up what she wanted to eat on her way home from work, but today she had gone to pick up the fox.

Which meant that her fridge mostly consisted of carrots and soy milk. . . Not really much to cook, especially to please the fox. But, he couldn’t say no to a pizza, could he? She heard an affirmative grunt from his bedroom, as she flopped down on the couch and pulled out her phone.

Now. . . what to order. . .

A few minutes later, the fox emerged and hopped over the back of the couch to crash down beside her. With the way he glanced over at her with a grin, she imagined that he’d expected to ‘surprise’ her.

However, the rabbit was used to him being unpredictable. “So, what do you want to watch?” He asked as he draped his arms across the top of the couch lazily. Judy rolled her eyes, as she turned the TV on with the remote.

“I don’t know, what do you want to watch?” She retorted as the fox looked down at her with a smile.

“I’m fine with anything. . . Anything that’s not one of those silly cop dramas.” He reiterated, raising a paw with a shake of his head. “Now that I know more about policing, watching them do everything wrong is probably going to piss me off too much.”

Judy laughed, nodding her head. “That’s an understatement. If I hear them talk about disregarding warrants one more time, I’m going to lose my mind.”

“Yeah. Do the writers know anything about proper police work? Any evidence seized illegally, without a warrant, is basically ineligible in a court of law. Period, with few exceptions. There are specific, limited procedures and allowances for warrantless searches, you don’t just go ‘damn the torpedoes, let’s bust into someone’s house’” The fox spitted facts, angrily at no one in particular.

“And, why is there no damn fallout for it? Seriously? They always have the boss say ‘let me handle the legal stuff’ but never show how the entire investigation gets thrown out due to idiocy. Let alone, let’s not talk about how that boss is a corrupted piece of shit if they’re condoning their members breaking protocol just because it’s the ‘only way’. What an example to set for people wanting to become police officers, that the ‘laws’ you follow mean nothing.” Nick added, waving his paw around for exaggerated effect. And, it certainly had an effect on the rabbit.

Judy looked up at him with a smirk, cocking her head slightly to the side. For some reason. . . The fox was pretty attractive when he was spouting legal knowledge. . . But, that was just because she had a thing for smart males, she imagined.

Which pretty much ruled out most of the bunnies in Bunnyburrow. She didn’t even really start dating until she went to college, thanks to that. But now, she was in Zootopia, and she could easily log on to any dating app and find some smart guy to settle down with.

As her mother was so willing to point out, every other day. But, Judy’s career was just starting. She didn’t want to settle down, get married, or have kids at any point in the near future. She wasn’t throwing away her dream for her mother’s. And since when did it make sense to get married in your 20’s anymore, anyway?

In your 20’s, that was the time to enjoy life. Have fun. Experiment, learn and develop as a person. That way, by the time you did get married, you actually knew what you wanted in life. She looked at the fox, as a perfect example. He was in his thirties, and had changed so much from the fox that he met, so many months ago. . . Yet, he was still the same, in so many ways.

No, right now in her life, Judy was going to do what she wanted to do. And what she wanted right now was to sit on this couch with her friend, and watch some television while they waited for their food to arrive. If only he could actually help her choose a show. . . “Well, that eliminates at least 50% of the shows on Netflocks. . . How about a horror flick? Those are always fun.”

The fox raised a brow. “Depends. . . are you going to cling to me if you get scared?” Nick teased, as he looked at her, wagging his eyebrows with a telling smirk.

She scoffed. “Aren’t you the one who was scared when we watched Extraterrestrial?” The rabbit pointed out, reminding him of that. . . particularly spooky psychological horror movie. Space. Aliens. A whole lot of slimy disgustingness. Classic or not, Judy had to admit it was definitely a good horror movie.

Yet, the rabbit never flinched once during it, as opposed to the fox who jumped constantly. The fox chuckled, shaking his head. “. . .Good point. I’ll cling to you instead, hmmm?”

“. . . Dumb fox.”

“That’s not a ‘no’?”

No, no it wasn’t. The photo alone would be worth a million laughs.

* * *

Nick lifted the break-away tie, begrudgingly, with a very displeased look on his face.

The fox liked real ties. Good, proper ties. Sure, he basically only had two of them. . . But hey, they were good ties. Instead, he was required to have this break-away junk that could barely be considered a tie.

Yes, he understood the purpose. In the middle of a fight, a police officer having a ‘factory’ strangling rope was not an ideal situation. But, as he clipped it on behind his collar, he found himself again fiddling with the piece of trash. See, the knot in the centre was just a single fur misaligned, and Nick was trying to get it twisted to the right side. With a deep sigh, he gave up and wondered if death was a viable alternative to this tie.

The ‘knot’ wasn’t even half-perfect, basically just stapled together haphazardly with a ‘collar’ that went around to the back of his shirt. Even his ties, which he basically never untied, were still better looking than this.

But, it was something he was going to accept, as he shifted the tie back and forth as he looked into the small dresser mirror he’d picked up yesterday.

Despite being their ‘day off’, Nick spent the majority of yesterday driving around and buying stuff that he needed for his room, and the house. Now that he had more room than just a tiny studio and some money to spare, Nick wanted to spruce his room up a tad.

A dresser mirror was a must, of course. As a proper gentlemammal, he couldn’t just wait for the bathroom to be to make sure his fur was perfect. With a slight frown, he gave the tie one last fiddle, before he shook his head in absolute defeat.

Oh well. It wasn’t like he was going for the ‘total professional’ look anyway. He was the sly one. The suave one. He picked up his sunglasses, and hooked them into his left front pocket, as he smiled in the mirror one last time.

He looked to the left, to the photo frame that he’d quickly turned over yesterday. He gave it a quick pat before he heard the dull thumping coming from outside his bedroom door.

Well, there was the bunny alarm, telling him it was time to get moving, he supposed. It was still early, though. . . But, he wasn’t going to question her.

He’d also gone grocery shopping yesterday as well, and dragged the rabbit along with her. Her method was perfectly fine, but, when you literally had nothing for cooking in the house, it was really annoying. Instead, he bought a whole bunch of non-perishable and long-lasting foodstuffs, so that they at least had something.

He padded over to the door, and opened it. Right outside, the rabbit was tapping her foot impatiently, with a light smile on her slightly cocked head as she waited for him to come out. “Alright, Carrots, I’m coming.”

Immediately, her smile turned to a frown as she looked up and down at the fox’s attire. “You know you missed a button on your collar, right?” She asked, quizzically as she narrowed her eyes at the fox.

“Not missed; a personal choice. . . You don’t want this poor fox restricting his breathing, do you? I could pass out.” He teased, as he walked around her towards the door. The rabbit sighed and followed him to the door.

“Not a very ‘professional’ choice. . .” She muttered, as Nick opened the door and let her exist before him.

He shrugged, as he watched her walk out the door. “Well, one could argue that body armour and a wetsuit isn’t very professional either fluff.”

“Ha!” She scoffed back. “My uniform is regulation, and I wear it as the regulations require. . . I’m not telling you to button up, I’m just warning you not to be surprised if Bogo complains about it.”

Nick rolled his eyes, as he closed the door behind them, and locked it with his key. “As if the chief is even going to notice, Carrots. I’m all the way down here, and he’s _waay_ up there.” Nick joked, raising his hands to the sky comically.

She laughed, shaking her head. “Fine. But, I warned you. C’mon, let’s hurry up. We can’t miss our train.” The rabbit spoke, as she began hopping down the stairs two at a time.

Nick begrudgingly picked up his speed, although his brows fell at the mention of a train. “Train? Why are we taking the train, and not your car?” He asked, one ear flitting down in confusion. Was that why there were leaving so early because they were taking the train?

Why in the world would they leave early just to take the train? As Judy got further away, Nick picked up his pace, carefully moving his way down the stairs after the rabbit. “Why waste wear and tear on it, when we can just take public transit? I only got the car so I could go to Bunnyburrow more often, and so I could buy large stuff without renting a truck. It’s still much more economical to take public transit, think of the traffic right now.”

The rabbit nattered on, as Nick rolled his eyes as he balanced his decent with a paw on the bannister. He’d never be able to understand that rabbit, would he?

They chatted on the train, about all of the stuff he should know before they went into the bullpen for the first time. Most of which he already knew, of course. He didn’t just graduate from the academy for nothing, after all.

They continued to talk when he went and finally met this Benjamin Clawhauser for the first ‘official’ time as an officer. He seemed to be a big bundle of joy, almost sickeningly sweet. But, they seemed to hit it off before the rabbit finally pulled him away, and guided him to the large door that was now in front of him.

He looked at the simple entryway, a small smile on his face as he thought about the path that lead him to this moment. Nick turned and gazed at the rabbit smiling beside him. “Well? Go on. I’m not going to open it for you. . . Are you ready to get yelled at by a buffalo?” She teased, as Nick shook his head and lifted a paw to the door handle.

“And a rabbit, yes. I’ll take anything you two can throw at me.” He muttered, as he turned the knob and pushed the door open. The loud chorus of voices spilled out, as he glanced around the room of animals.

“Good to hear, Nick. But, I’ll make you regret saying that, soon enough. . .”

“I truly doubt it, Carrots.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Donate here](https://blacklivesmatters.carrd.co/#donate) if you have the ability to give safely. I hope everyone out there is staying safe, from both COVID 19 and from everything else going on in the world today.
> 
> The side-lesson for today is going to be a story of institutionalized racism. Do you know Inspector Zredyote? He hasn't gone anywhere and will return, trust me. But, I thought I'd give some story of why the man he's based on is not 'perfect' and never claimed to be. And I will tell it in a revised anecdote that he told us. First off, anyone saying Canada is 'less racist' is stupid. We have literally attempted to 'sweep' Indigenous peoples and culture under the rug, and continue to treat them horribly. Regarding this, the man that the Inspector was based on pulled over a vehicle full of Indigenous people because it had an expired plate. The people in the van were an entire family, just trying to get home, and included elders who were very old. They were at least a ten-minute drive from town. And, due to the violation, he had their vehicle towed, and forced them to walk to town. Didn't offer to take them there, didn't have the tow truck take them. No, he made them walk to town. And he left them there and drove to town. Filled out his report, got a pat on the back for his actions. Was he racist against Indigenous people, he asked the people in the class?
> 
> Then, he placed a card on the desk and asked a student to read it. It was his 'Indigenous status card' (It's called something else, but I refuse to say THAT word). He is indigenous. And that is the worst element of institutionalized racism. Convinced that what he did was right, convinced that choosing to 'not be human' was the most 'acceptable' police procedure at that moment. No, he got rewarded for his behaviour, just like everyone else who did such things. And it didn't matter that he'd given far more lenience to white people before. The system taught him that there were rewards for this kind of behaviour, and he took them as such. Without any regard to the pain he was causing. That is why I don't accept the measly statements of 'we can't be systemically racist, we hired x minority'. It goes FAR BEYOND THAT. 
> 
> He never forgot that day. Used it as a lesson. Has fought long and hard not to erase that legacy, but to prove that he can become better than that. He has championed for Indigenous and other minority groups. He has stood up to homophobes and others, defiantly flying the Pride flag in his office, even if it meant people 'thought' he was gay. In response to anti-Islamic attitudes, he wrote 'I am Muslim' in the corners of his whiteboard, in solidarity. And he fought tooth and nail as a small community chief to force the town council to stop persecuting people based upon their religion.
> 
> Does that forgive him for his actions that day? No. But it's not forgiveness he sought. It was to become better. And, it's something everyone can do, regardless of where you might be. You are never too far 'down' a path to change direction. Saying, and meaning it when you say, 'I have made mistakes in my past. I own them, as I alone have messed up. And I will be better' is the first step in reconciliation with yourself, and with others.
> 
> There may be a delay for the next chapter. Not that I've lost energy, no, but, I think at least one of my other stories deserve an update now that this story run has provided me with muse and ideas to continue them.
> 
> Thank you everyone who reads my stories, and my random rants.


	7. This'll surely be over in a. . . Flash?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _"Just a heads-up: That coffee we gave you earlier had fluorescent Furr-ium in it so we can track the neuronal activity in your brain. There's a slight chance the Furr-ium could harden in your brain and turn you into a full furry. Anyway, don't stress yourself thinking about what fursona you'd have if you were a furry. I'm serious. Visualizing a fursona while under stress actually triggers the reaction."_  
>  -Furry Johnson
> 
> Black Lives Matter. BIPOC Lives Matter. Trans Lives Matter. LGBTQIA2+ Rights Matter. Honour the Fort Laramie Treaty, and return the land of the Black Hills back to their rightful caretakers. Bring justice down upon the killers of Breonna Taylor, firing is not enough. And no, commenting mean things will not earn you a platform here, foolish angry racists.
> 
> 6th Peelian Principle: To use phyical force only when the excersice of persuasion, advice and warning is found to be insufficient to obtain public co-operation to an extent necessary to secure observance of law or to restore order, and to use only the minimum degree of physical force which is necessary on any particular occasion for achieving a police objective.
> 
> This one really doesn't need an explanation. And, that was the point of these principles. These were to be carried by all officers of the Met police, as guidelines and rules of behaviour. They weren't meant to be complex or hard, or 'terribly' deep in thought. Just simple, responsible policing by the consent of the nations population. This gives credence to this, advising to only use force when all other attempts fail (Hello, 5 step hard style? You were a century late, but, what a style). Only to a necessary extent, and not one step above that minimum need, another important point. And only for the purposes of gaining obedience to law, or restore order. Punishment is. . . Seemingly absent here, for good reason.
> 
> This chapter finally answers a questions about where the movie leaves off, at least partly. At least, this is how I can imagine it playing out. I'm trying to work on my other stories as well at present, so I'm sorry if this took too long to get out.
> 
> Also my proofreader decided not to cooperate. Apparently, they 'deserve sleep' and 'just five more minutes', and other stupid claims like that. Foolish. So, if you spot errors, I'm officially scapegoating on them.
> 
> Disney owns everything. That's it. That's the story.

“Nnniiiiiiiccccck.” The sloth responded, as his eyes relaxed and a large smile formed on his face. It must have been a happy sight, seeing the fox on the other side of the door.

Nick, on the other hand, was staring at him with a surprised grin, one brow raised curiously.

The fox knew ‘everyone’, as he told Judy so often. And, it was probably not true but that wasn’t really the point. Because, of all the people that he did know, the last person that he had expected to see behind the wheel was his high school friend Flash.

Weaving through traffic, running red lights, and speeding. Street racing maybe, as the reports claimed. That strait-laced sloth from high school. Nick shook his head, chuckling, as he glanced over at the rabbit.

Judy looked at him and motioned her head towards Flash with a smirk. Nick guessed that meant that she wanted him to take the reins on this. He felt his heart quicken slightly, not really sure if giving him the lead was a good idea right now.

Sure, he’d just gotten out of the academy. But, this was literally the first thing he’d ever responded to. . . Wasn’t this the part where she was supposed to show him how to do everything in the field?

Was this her way of seeing if he was paying attention in the academy? Probably. . . And, a good test of morals, given that Flash was his friend. Judy kind of ran right through the whole greeting part, though. . .

He looked back at the sloth, grinning as he quickly decided how he was going to run this. “Well, you know who I am. And, I’m sure you remember my wonderful bunny partner, Officer Judith Hopps?” Nick asked, trying his best to salvage the ‘greetings’ portion as he gestured to Judy with a grin. She rolled her eyes, but he saw the little smirk.

He nodded slowly, smiling at Nick happily. “Yes. . . . . I. . . . . . remember. . . . . .Officer. . . . . . Hopps. . . . . But. . . . I. . . . . did. . . . not. . . . . . expect. . . . . . to. . . . . . . see. . . . . you. . . . . . . Nick. . . . . You . . . . . . the. . . . . . Z. . . . . P. . . . D? . . . . . . . . How. . . . . . did. . . . . . that. . . . . . happen?” He asked, as he slowly turned his head to the side.

Nick grinned harder and shrugged as he gestured to Judy. “Well, she made me an offer I couldn’t refuse. But, we can talk about that later; Flash. . . what, in all of Zootopia, are you in such a hurry for, buddy?” He asked, as he crossed his arms and leaned onto the window frame. He had to follow the eight-step, even if Judy kind of spoofed that already.

But, introductions were done at least. The sloth began to respond as his shoulders began to lift in a shrug. Judy crossed her paws and glanced between the two with a smile.

Like a happy supervisor, maybe. Nick had a feeling she’d intervene if he screwed up too badly, right?

“I. . . . . . . . . . . did. . . . . . . . . . . not. . . . . . . . . . . realize. . . . . . . . . that. . . . . . . . I. . . . . . . was. . . . . . going. . . . . . . . . that. . . . . . . . fast.” The sloth answered, as he smiled at the fox genuinely. It must have felt nice, being pulled over by your high school friend. Your close friend.

However, he was there with his partner. . . The spunky rabbit, who definitely didn’t believe in partial treatment. And personally. . . . Nick was pretty angry.

“One hundred, and fifteen miles an hour, though? Is your speedometer not working or something? You must’ve at _least_ felt something was up when you ran that red light back there. You nearly hit us, y’know?” Nick responded as he cocked his head to the side.

The sloth began a slow nod. “The. . . . . . . speedometer. . . . . . is. . . . . . . . in. . . . . . kilometres. . . . . . for. . . . . . this. . . . . . car. . . . . I. . . . . . was. . . . . . . confused. . . . . . . . . by. . . . . . . . the. . . . . . conversion. . . . . . . . And. . . . the. . . . . light. . . . . . . . just. . . . . . turned. . . . . . . . yellow. . . . . . . . . for. . . . . . . me.”

Nick wondered if the light thing was true. He wasn’t sure what the time-lapse was for a sloth’s comprehension of changes in the environment. But, given how he responded to people’s questions, there was the possibility of a delay.

But then, how did he not crash into something when he was driving? He couldn’t just be ‘lucky’ every time something stepped out in front of him.

However, unfortunately for Flash, entering an intersection when the light was yellow was still a ticketing offence, on its own. After all, there were many people who abused the yellow light’s purpose out of impatience. But, still. . . . If that was the only issue, then Flash was being pretty cooperative, and Nick would’ve been okay with the idea of letting him off.

“Well, still, so I’m going to have to ask you for your driver’s license, insurance, and registration. As a good DMV employee, I’m sure you have them on you?” Nick responded, as he straightened up, and hooked his sunglasses into his pocket.

“Yes. . . . . I. . . . . . . do. . . . . . Hold. . . . . . . . on.” The sloth nodded slowly, as he began to turn and reach around for the requested documentation. Nick turned to Judy, who nodded slightly with a grin.

He snorted quietly and rolled his eyes as they waited for the sloth to retrieve everything. Nick honestly wondered how Flash ever got to work on time. Probably speeding, the fox grimly noted. He couldn’t wait to get back to the car and talk to Judy about this.

Nick knew he was doing fine. Hopefully. He didn’t introduce himself, but, that wasn’t exactly necessary here. The sloth turned back slowly, as he held the documents out to the fox. “Here. . . . . . . you. . . . . go,” Flash spoke, with a smile.

Nick took the documents in his non-dominant hand and glanced at the license briefly. It was definitely Flash’s photo and his name. As if he needed to check. “Is everything in here up-to-date and correct? No address changes, or new pink cards?” Nick asked, looking at the sloth.

“No. . . . . it. . . . . . . is. . . . . . . all. . . . . . . good.” The sloth said, as he began to slowly nod.

Nick smiled and nodded in response. “Alright. Well, my partner and I are going to go and verify the information here. Please stay in your car, for your safety and mine. We’ll be right back.” The fox responded, with a nod. He waited until the sloth began a slow nod, and then the two walked back to the car carefully.

Nick watched the traffic, and the car as they walked back to the car, and hopped in. He passed the documents to Judy, smirking at her. “That. . . . was not who I would’ve suspected.” He muttered, shaking his head lightly.

She chuckled, as she scanned Flash’s license on the computer, and tapped through a few windows of information. “I couldn’t believe it, either. How could he drive that fast and not crash? He couldn’t even interact with a touch screen quickly” She asked rhetorically, as Nick laughed.

“Well, I’ve known him for a long time; but I still have absolutely no idea. . . . So, what’s he got on his record?” Nick asked as he leaned over the centre console, nearly onto the rabbit’s shoulder as he tried to look at the screen. 

Sure, he could turn the screen, as she looked at him out of the corner of her eye, smirking. But, he liked being weird. Unsurprisingly, there were quite a few tickets under his name. Running lights, speeding, the regular stuff you would expect from a regular mammal of Zootopia.

Considering he literally worked at the DMV. . . Nick snorted, and shook his head. “Sheesh. . . For working at the DMV, he doesn’t obey the rules of the road often. . . Well, what’s the plan, Sergeant Judy?” He asked, as he leaned back into his seat and smiled at the rabbit. Not so subtly trying to pawn the choice into the capable rabbit’s paws. She was impartial, she’d know what the right thing was. Nick already knew what he would do. . .

The rabbit, however, crossed her paws and smiled back at him. Nick knew what that meant, even before she spoke. “I don’t think so, slick. I want to see what you come up with first..” She retorted as Nick scoffed.

“Aren’t you supposed to be teaching me?” He responded, gesturing to his chest with wide, surprised eyes.

She shook her head, chuckling to herself. “Oh, I am. But, first I want to see what I have to work with. How much do I have to work with this fox clay to make it right, y’know?” 

Nick huffed and sighed as he looked at the computer screen. “Well. . . . He’s my friend. I’ve known him for a long time, Judy. And, he was pretty cooperative. . . You wanna radio for the tow truck?” Nick muttered as he smiled at her.

The law was pretty clear. And, Nick was not going to play favourites. Especially, “I’m impressed, Slick. Not surprised, but, impressed.” Judy’s smile beamed, as she grabbed her radio. “Base from Z240.” She spoke into the microphone.

Nick smirked. “So. . . You’ll have fun playing with this fox clay, hmm?”

She rolled her eyes, as a voice came through the speaker on the radio. _“Z240, go ahead.”_

It was her euphemism, could she really blame him for having fun with it? He pulled out his notebook and began filling it out with the information on the display. And he started writing out the tickets. . . “We’ve had a severe speeding violation, and we need a tow truck down on Canopy Drive and 12th street.” She informed them of the case, while he opened the glove box and pulled out one of the little pamphlets with directions to the impound lot and information about how to retrieve your vehicle.

_”Tow truck en-route, Z240. Do you require backup?”_ The radio crackled again after a few seconds, as Nick sighed.

“Nope. Thank you, Base.” She finished, as she looked over at the fox. “Do you want me to. . .” She began, tilting her ears to the side. It was obvious that she wondered if he was able to give the sloth the bad news. . . Nick snorted.

He shook his head, smiling. “Hey, you chose to trust me and I am going to take full advantage of it. . . He’s not going to be happy, but at least it’s bad news from a friend, right?” Nick mocked with a shrug, knowing full well that it wasn’t going to go well. Despite how calm Flash seemed, it was quite possible to make him angry. Especially when he was having a bad day, like being pulled over by the police.

But to Nick, that didn’t matter. Truth be told, he didn’t just choose this because it was the ‘right’ thing to do. Friend or no friend, he ran a red light at 115 miles an hour, in a 40 zone. And, nearly T-boned their cruiser. All because the sloth decided to ‘go fast’. The lies he gave were bullshit. If it truly was a kilometres confusion, he’d have been going a lot slower, not ridiculously faster.

The impact would’ve been on Judy’s side. On her door, maybe. Nick wasn’t sure what would have happened at that speed if they’d so much as rolled a few feet further forward. He wasn’t an accident specialist. But, what he knew for certain was that Judy would not be ‘hunky-dory’.

That was enough for Nick to decided that ‘leniency’ wasn’t an option here. Even if it wasn’t Judy if it wasn’t them, the facts didn’t change; Flash could have killed someone. Would kill someone, speeding that fast and running lights. It was only a matter of time if someone didn’t do something.

He’d seen some accidents when he was on the street selling pawpsicles. The horrific injuries, the mangled cars. The screams of pain, both mental and physical. A parent, wailing over their child. 

Sometimes it was a real accident and just a bad circumstance. Other times, someone was blatantly ignoring the rules of the road, simply because they wanted to get somewhere quicker, or didn’t believe it was an issue. He’d seen a lot of stuff on his days in the street, but there were few crimes that were so egregiously negligent, and driven by childish need. Finnick never understood why he always harped on the fennec fox every time he turned right on a red without stopping.

But when Nick saw the carnage and heard the pain, it was hard to justify a few minutes of time. ‘I was in a hurry’ is no excuse to a mother, who held her bleeding child in their arms. He’d seen it, and he didn’t want to ever again.

A few moments later, they both exited the cruiser and approached the window of Flash’s car again. Judy followed along behind and passed him the insurance documents as they halted at the door.

Flash turned to face them, a smile appearing on his face as Nick held the documents out to him, the barest of smiles on the fox’s face. He didn’t want to look mean, but, he also didn’t want to look goading. “Thank. . . . . you. . . . . I. . . . . . am. . . . . . sorry. . . . . . for. . . . . . causing. . . . . . you. . . . . . . . trouble.” The sloth answered as he took the documents back.

“Well, I’m sorry to have to tell you this, Flash. But, I’m afraid you are going to be ticketed for speeding. And. . . We’re going to have to take your license, and impound your car for thirty days.” Nick spoke confidently, as he watched the sloth carefully.

For what seemed like a long time, the sloth did not respond as he slowly comprehended what Nick had said. Then, his expression changed to surprise, as he turned his head to the side. “But. . . . . we. . . . . are. . . . . friends. . . . . . . Nick. . . . . . C’mon. . . . . I. . . . . . promise. . . . . not. . . . . to. . . . . . speed. . . . . again.” He murmured, as Nick waited patiently for him to finish.

It was rude to interrupt mammals in general, but when it came to a sloth it was extremely disrespectful. It took them a long time to speak, to try and skip ahead just because they were still speaking was unbelievably impolite. Even if you could tell what they were going for before they got there.

Just because you could respond before they finished, didn’t mean that you should. “I know, Flash. However, you work at the DMV. You have for years. You know, as much as I do, that speeding is against the law. And, as I’m sure you are aware, speeding in excess of _double_ the speed limit means that we have to tow your car. You also ran a red light and nearly hit our vehicle, so I’m sure you can see why we’re concerned about this behaviour.” Nick explained as he handed Flash the ticket and the little impound information packet. “You’ll be able to get your car in thirty days at that address. Now, sir, I need you to please exit the vehicle while we wait for the tow truck to arrive.”

The sloth slowly shook his head. “But. . . . . Nick. . . . . .” Oh, how much Nick wanted to interrupt there. But, again, he needed to be respectful here. “We. . . . . can. . . . . . . work. . . . . . this. . . . out. . . . . Come. . . .on. . . . . buddy.”

Oh, how much he hated that word right now. Yes, they were ‘buddies’. But, he was five feet from possibly killing Judy and Nick. . . . . In another world, it might have happened, too. Nick could’ve been dead, or worse, holding a dying Judy in his arms. “I’m sorry, Flash. For one, my field training officer is watching me,” The fox responded, gesturing to Judy. 

The rabbit had to know that didn’t matter to him, as she smirked back at him. “And two, as an officer my greatest concern is the safety of everyone in Zootopia, including yourself, Flash. You’re risking your own life driving like that, let alone other mammals.”

For a moment, the sloth just stared at him with a surprised and hurt expression. A part of Nick felt bad, but it was nowhere near the size of the part that knew this was the right answer. Instinctively, Nick looked at Judy to double-check, who nodded to him supportively.

And then, the sloth’s face slowly changed to one of anger. Yeah, Nick figured this was going to happen. . . “How. . . . Fucking. . . . . dare. . . . . you. . . . . . I. . . . . . have. . . . . been. . . .”

_Is this going to take a while?_ Nick thought, trying not to roll his eyes as he looked over at Judy with one raised eyebrow. Arguments with sloth’s were terrible, if only for the reason that they literally could take hours just to get through. Flash was a fairly calm sloth, though. Chances were, he was going to somehow calm down about halfway through the argument.

Of course, considering how long it took the sloth to have that argument, Nick couldn’t even try and guess how long it would take to reach that point. Minutes, a few hours maybe. For all he knew, their entire shift would end by the time they reached that halfway point.

He really hoped not. What with the wonderful teasing Nick and Judy were having right before this, Nick figured he was going to enjoy this whole cop thing. Especially since it meant he spent his day with Judy, who was always a special delight to the fox.

But first. . . Nick shrugged to the rabbit, as they both turned to listen to the sloth’s argument drone on.

How long could a sloth stay angry, before falling asleep?

* * *

Good news, it didn’t take the entire shift. But by the time that the sloth had finished complaining, and the truck had picked up the car, they both decided it was a good time to grab their lunch break while they finished the paperwork. There was always extra paperwork when you seized a vehicle. . .

Especially when he took so long to get out of the car, cursing and swearing at them all the way. That was. . . . somewhat demoralizing. But, it was the right thing. And, having the bunny sitting across the table at him, was worth far more. “Are you doing okay, Nick?” Judy asked, tilting her head to the side. 

Nick looked up from his cup of coffee, immediately grinning when he saw the concern on her face. “Aw. . . Are you worrying about me, Carrots? . . Don’t worry, fluff, I’m fine. He’ll cool off, eventually.” He responded, as Judy immediately rolled her eyes at him.

“Well, you did well, considering I kind of threw you into it.” She added before she continued eating her salad. It was entertaining to watch the rabbit eat, as she shovelled more lettuce into her mouth.

If Nick didn’t know any better, he’d assume that she was stuffing far too much food in her mouth. But, as he’d learned from watching her eat over the last several months, he was greatly underestimating her abilities, across all things

He shook his head, as he picked up the last bits of his sandwich. “Of course I did great. I have a bunny partner to impress. How could I possibly mess it up?” He mused as he took a bite.

She chuckled, shaking her head as she scooped up the last of her salad. “Uhuh. You’re going to have to do a lot more to impress me. A good start, but you’ve got a long way to go.” She teased, as she took the last fork-full, and continued scribbling information into her notes.

Nick chewed, smirking back at the rabbit. The fox’s notes were allowed to be simple. But, for the poor rabbit, she also needed to record his behaviour during calls, in order to write reports about him later. Hopefully, it was all good notes.

“I don’t know. You did say you _loved_ me back there. That’s got to count for a few good points, hmmm?” He purred, tilting his head to the side, one ear propping forward comically. 

Her eyebrows fell, as she shook her head and swallowed the last of her food. “Sure, I love you. . . As a _friend_. But, as a partner, you’ve got a long way to go.” She responded, grinning at the fox as she flipped her notebook closed. “Almost done?”

Nick snorted, as he threw the last bit of sandwich in his mouth, and chewed, emphatically. She shook her head with a light laugh, and got up from the table and walked toward the cashier. Nick grabbed the last of his stuff and rose to follow her.

“I’ll pay for my own food.” Nick spoke as he approached, hoping to catch the cashier before the rabbit finished. But, in a flash, she smirked at him, as she quickly tapped her card on the ATM receiver. Nick shook his head, rolling his eyes.

“Oops.” She teased, as the receipt began to print off noisily. 

“Sorry, sir.” The squirrel cashier responded, shrugging.

Nick shook his head, chuckling softly. Immediately, he decided to get revenge by cooking dinner. Of course, then he needed to think about what he needed to pick up from the store. . . What would a rabbit like?

He could whip up some carrot cake for dessert. She seemed to like that, back when they were at that little restaurant by the academy. That would work, right? “Thanks. C’mon, foxy.” She chimed, as she put her card back in her wallet and turned towards the door.

“Right away, Sergeant.” He mocked, as he followed behind her. She snorted, shaking her head as they walked out the door and to the cruiser.

She unlocked it, and they both clamoured back inside. Immediately, Judy picked up the radio transmitter. Always such a keener. “Base from Z240.”

“Z240, go ahead.” The familiar voice of Clawhauser crackled through. How that feline was responsible for all dispatch calls, he’d never know. Or, maybe that wasn’t true. . . It didn’t sound like him on the radio earlier.

“We have finished our break, are there any calls in the waitlist?” She asked, raring to go as usual. Nick grinned, as he regarded the rabbit in the driver’s seat. Her seat, as she so eloquently suggested when Nick jokingly offered to drive this morning.

It was always her seat, wasn’t it? Metaphorically, too. In life, she never ‘let’ anything happen that she didn’t want to. Not without a fight, at least. But, as long as she was willing to let him sit beside her, he couldn’t complain much.

He still didn’t understand when she came after him that day. She’d figured it out, ‘cracked’ the case. She had all the clues. They were flowers, there was the possibility that there was a cure. And, she knew who might have been (and was) involved.

She could’ve taken that information to the ZPD immediately. Even as a civilian, it wasn’t like they wouldn’t take what she said as serious, and investigate it. Especially after she found all the missing animals. She could’ve easily ‘earned’ back her spot, in a second. They would be able to find Weaselton, selling DVD's on the street corner, he wasn’t exactly an invisible character. They could’ve used that, to get him to confess. From there. . . Well. . . Maybe they would’ve never caught Bellweather’s confession like that. . .

But, that wasn’t the point. She would eventually uncover everything, she was more than capable. Instead, she did something entirely different. Judy could never have predicted how it would turn out, when she went and found Finnick, in a desperate search for him.

For him, who’d been. . . Not having a good time, the last few months. Judy wanted to find him. To see a fox, that she barely knew. To apologize to him, for hurting him. Tell him that she was wrong and that she needed his help. And, that she was a dumb bunny, of course.

How could a fox- No, how could Nicholas Wilde, not respond to that teary-eyed bunny?

She was a spitfire, and completely unpredictable. The fox doubted there was another mammal like her, in the entire City of Zootopia.

“I’ve got nothing for you right now, Z240. According to the computer, you two have been assigned to. . . . patrol Sahara Square for the rest of the shift!” Ben’s voice chimed in, disrupting his thoughts as the rabbit shook her head.

“10-4, Base.” She responded, as she set the mic down, and started the cruiser. Nick frowned, lightly shaking his head.

In all of Zootopia, there wasn’t a single call that they had to respond to? Not even a bullshit call? Nick didn’t believe that at all. “Something sounds fishy about that.” He murmured, as he instinctively buckled himself in as she put the car in reverse, and drove out of the parking lot.

She shrugged. “I don’t think so. They might be holding us in reserve, in case they get a call from one of the smaller communities. I can’t imagine how hard it would be for Officer Francine to try and respond to a call in Rodentia.”

Nick nodded, trying to imagine the poor elephant trying to move around in there. One wrong step and traffic would have to be diverted for the entire community. At least with Judy and Nick, they could try and stay mostly out of the way.

“Alrighty then, Carrots, whatever you say.” He responded as he leaned back in his chair, paws behind his head. Driving around for hours sounded like a pretty boring shift. But, there were worst things than being in a confined space with a bunny, right?

Judy let out a huff, shaking her head. “You really need to start being more careful with your words, Slick. We’ll pull in here.” She spoke, as she turned the car into a parking spot by the large nearby park.

Nick leaned forward curiously, as she put the cruiser in park and turned off the engine. “. . . What are we doing exactly, fluff? I thought we were supposed to patrol?” 

Judy unbuckled, nodding her head. “Mhm, we are. But, no one said we had to patrol in the car. And, I don’t know about you, but I think it would be a lot more entertaining to walk around and talk to our fellow Zootopians, don’t you think?”

The rabbit opened her door, smirking at the fox as she slid her way out. He chuckled, as he followed suit and hopped to the ground. As soon as his door closed, he heard the chirp of the car alarm as he walked around to the front of the cruiser.

There, the rabbit was already putting coins into the meter, causing Nick confusion as he cocked his head to the side. “Aren’t we immune from parking tickets?” He asked. Surely, they were at least allowed that right?

Judy shrugged. “Not in my opinion. This is a parking space for Zootopians, and we’re not special or better than them. Besides, this makes the perfect incentive to come back to the cruiser after two hours, doesn’t it?”

Nick nodded, although it still sounded silly to him. No meter maid was going to give them a ticket anyway, right?

But, the rabbit quickly turned, and waved for him to follow as she walked towards the park. “Let’s go do some real police work, hmm? Make some connections?” She teased, as he followed behind, slipping on his sunglasses as the sun blazed into his eyes.

“Whatever you say, Carrots. I’ve got lots of connections.” He joked back, grinning as they made their way through the park, headed for a small group of picnickers.

She snorted, shaking her head. “Yes, as Nick the con-fox. Now, how about you make some as Nick the Officer?”

Nick laughed, as a grin formed. . . She wanted him to make connections, hmm? “So. . . In lieu of connections, any hints on how to make a rabbit love a fox as a _partner_?” He teased, bringing up her little tease.

“Well, I would first try not being a pain in the ass, hmm?” 

“Aw. . . C’mon. Where’s your sense of adventure?”

* * *

His sense of adventure was perfectly fine. Sure, he wasn’t exactly keen on like, half of the dangerous shit that she dragged him through before. But, that was because the rabbit was crazy.

“Are you ever going to clean up all these wires?” The rabbit spoke, calling from the living room with a very condescending tone. Especially considering the fox was definitely going to reroute the wiring for the entertainment system. Eventually.

“How about this, the first day we have off, it’s the first thing on my list. Okay?” Nick responded as he wandered in the kitchen, checking the two pans on the stove every few seconds. 

The rabbit shook her head. “I’ll believe it when it happens.” She had to be so dismissive, didn’t she? He wanted to. But, since he moved in, most of his time off was either spent sleeping, cooking, or trying out new organizational systems for his room.

So far, chaos seemed to be the best solution for him.

“So, all in, how do you think your first day went?” Judy asked as the fox continued to carefully poke the frying vegetables with his spatula. Sure, it was calm, calculated poking. But, that was all cooking really was, wasn’t it? Throw a few random spices here and there, and call it a meal.

Besides, he only needed to do it for another six minutes, according to the stove clock. Then, the banana bread would be done, and they could eat dinner while it cooled.

Judy didn’t like the carrots at the local grocery market, they all seemed a little too rubbery. But, rabbits liked banana’s too, right? Everyone liked bananas.

“I don’t know. . . You’re the ‘reviewer’, after all. You already knew how well I did, don’t you? Are you asking as my superior, or as my roommate?” He asked, leaning to look at her with a grin. She rolled her eyes, shaking her head as she clicked through the channels on the TV.

“That depends. Are you trying to bribe me with that delicious smelling banana bread, as a superior, or as a roommate?” She spoke melodically, as she looked back to him with a. . . suspicious smirk.

The smell flooding the entire apartment was wonderful, he had to admit. Banana bread was aromatic. But, that accusation. . . Nick held a paw to his chest, feigning pain, as he let his legs wobble. But, he suddenly straightened and grinned mischievously. “Is it too much to ask for both?”

“It’s not that big of a loaf.” She instantly fired back, impressing the fox as usual. It never mattered what he did, she always stepped up and met him halfway. It was perhaps her most. . . Attractive? Feature? That sounded a little weird.

But, that was neither here nor there. “Well, hold on a moment, I’ll whip up some more batter.” Ah, that wasn’t even half as good as her reply. But, he heard a single laugh from the living room, so, he was going to count that as worth it.

“You haven’t answered my question. As a _friend_ , how was your first day of work?” She asked again, punctuating her intention. He knew that was what she’d wanted, but, playing with her was always more fun.

And, he was going to have his fun one way or another. “Ooo, as the friend who _loves_ me? How interesting. Hmm. . . How do I respond?”

“I’d like to retract a statement I gave earlier, Officer.” She grumbled from the kitchen, as he decided the vegetables were ready and pulled it off the burner before sliding it onto the nearby plates. He turned the burners off, and also pulled the second pan off, and placed the few fried beetles onto his plate.

As soon as that was done, he turned to grin at the rabbit, who was smirking back to him. “Oh, I’m sorry ma’am. Are you saying that your earlier statement was incorrect? Were you lying to an officer?” It was not an offence to lie to an officer, unless it was in relation to an offence, or related to such matters. But, that didn’t stop it from being fun.

He took the pans and gave them a quick rinse in the sink. From the living room, she heard the rabbit call back. “No, but I fear that my res gestae statement is going to be used to self-incriminate myself, sir.” She responded, mockingly exaggerating in a distressed voice.

Nick shook his head, as he turned back to the stove. There was only a minute left, so he hit the off button, and grabbed the nearby stove mittens. “Well, if that is how you feel, ma’am, the statement shall not be used in a court of law as an absolute declaration of guilt. However, the statement will remain in my official notes as altering my notes would be illegal. The evidence you’ve given may be used to inculpate any accomplices that were implicit in the crime.” He mused as he pulled the loaf from the oven. 

All of that was bullshit. Res gestae statements couldn’t be retracted, that wasn’t how they worked. That wasn’t how any of this worked. But, Nick liked the game too much to call her out on it.

He could hear the rabbit snort from the living room, as he pulled the loaf from the oven and set the pan on the cooling rack. Sure, he was technically supposed to take it out of the pan first. He didn’t follow kitchen rules, though. “Who are you planning to convict with that evidence, Officer?” She asked voice filled with amused curiosity.

He pulled out two pair of cutlery and set one on each of the plates. “I’m sorry, ma’am, I can’t comment on any ongoing investigations. _Especially_ one involving people that you may know.” He responded, putting on an act of grace as he picked the plates up, and headed for the living room.

The rabbit watched his approach, one ear cocked to the side. That was the sign for her being amusingly interested, he had learned. Or, at least he assumed. She took her plate, as he sat down carefully beside her. “Alright, Officer. There’s just one issue.”

He looked over at the rabbit, who’d picked up the utensils, and was watching him with that cute, suspicion-creating grin. “Yes, ma’am?” He asked as he settled into the chair.

Then, the rabbit lifted her fork and reached across the couch to poke him in the chest, grinning widely. Nick looked down at the fork, and then back to the rabbit. “You still haven’t really answered my question, _Nick_.” She responded sternly, the use of his name clearly indicating that the game was definitely over.

Which, was too bad. He was having fun. But, with the threatening fork pressed to his chest, he chose to relent and smiled back at the rabbit. “Well. . . As you are my friend, I can say that I enjoyed it. It was fun, and I think I did fine. I have a lot to learn, though. . . My FTO is very harsh, unfortunately. She constantly watches me and is quick to correct me if I do something wrong. Kind of mean, in some ways.” He mentioned, the rabbit's eyes narrowing as she frowned at him.

“Sounds like you don’t like her very much.” She responded gruffly, as she retracted the fork, and stabbed a bok choy.

He chuckled, as he began to fork his own food. She probably would’ve preferred to stab him, but, laws. Besides. . . He had some more to say. “However. . . She believes in me. Even if I do not believe in myself. . . . I’d like to believe that, she wouldn’t be so harsh if I wasn’t somehow worth it. . . . At least, I hope?”

The frown on the rabbits face slowly turned to a smile as she shook her head at Nick. Before it slowly curved, into a mocking grin.

“I highly doubt it.”

* * *

That rabbit was wrong. No matter what anyone said about him, Nick kept his promises. Generally And, what with it being his first 3 days off, he was already kneeling in front of the television with a consternated expression.

It had been an. . . . Interesting run of shifts, he had to admit. While his first day went fairly well, he found out the next day that he’d made at least a dozen small grammar mistakes in his reports, and had to redo all of them. And, from then on, it became pretty clear that the rabbit wasn’t going to pull any punches at all.

As he hoped for, he guessed. Learning required correction, after all. But, Nick was a quick learner, he figured. His first instance of arresting a pickpocket was not particularly good, but by the time he arrested that weasel for assault, he had the rights down pat.

‘You are under arrest for -blank-, do you understand?’

‘You have the right to retain and instruct legal counsel without delay. You have the right to free legal aid, or to contact your own lawyer immediately. Do you understand? Do you wish to contact them now?’

‘You are not obliged to say anything unless you wish to do so, but whatever you say may be given in evidence. Do you understand?’

Simple in principle. He did it several times in school. But when you were arresting someone, holding your notebook nervously on the guideline page, it was a lot different.

The rabbit, on the other hand, could rattle it off like a machine gun. . . No book, no nervousness. Just straight police professionalism. She was an impressive sight to see.

Now, all of their ‘arrests’ so far were released at the scene, with an appearance notice. Not like they needed to haul every thief back to the station, as Judy so learned when she started. . . But, that wasn’t important now. Right now, Nick had greater concerns, here at home.

Judy was out somewhere, running some errands she had put off for a while. Said something about going to the pharmacy, and then going to go pick up some stuff for a ‘home office’ in her room. She wanted to get a home computer, so she wanted to shop around for some good deals. That way, she could do additional work at home, she said.

Nick suggested that she get a gaming computer, under the guise that it would be over-qualified and therefore capable of handling any workload. But, the rabbit quickly rejected the offer. Probably for good reason, considering a good gaming computer was not a cheap purchase.

He also asked her to pick up a few groceries, if she had time. Nick had given her a bit of money to pay for them, but he was almost certain that she was going to find some way to sneak the money back to him.

Ever since she’d gotten that sergeant’s raise, the rabbit talked about how she felt that she was swimming in cash. Nick, on the other hand, knew it wasn’t that much money. He’d met street hustlers who made way more than that.

But, to the frugal bunny, he was sure it seemed like a lot. She earned it all and deserved every bit of her promotion if the fox was allowed to have such an opinion.

It was about noon, she’d been gone only for a few hours. And, Nick was pretty much all done doing cable management for the entertainment system. He would’ve been proud of himself if he hadn’t busted the plug off in the AC receiver.

See, a lot of the things he had, he bought second hand. Some from pawn shops, others from online ads. Some were good quality, some were just old. And, some he had to scavenge wires for from wherever he could.

This power cord was one of them. He didn’t remember where he got it from, but, considering how corroded the little element looked, stuck in the back of the DVD player, he was pretty sure he should have left it where it was.

The broken cord didn’t matter, he was sure he had an extra somewhere. That wasn’t the problem. The problem was the broken-off bit inside the player. He needed to get it out, somehow.

He knew he should’ve been more careful, pulling on cables like that. Nick had been far more careful with everything else, he was just getting impatient. He didn’t even unplug it from the wall, he just grabbed the DVD player, and yanked, like a Neanderthal fox.

That disappointed, anxious and horrified look on his muzzle was evidence of his stupidity, as he stared at his failure. A failure that he may not be able to fix.

A new plug was one thing. It was another thing to try and remove the damaged part without wrecking the player itself. It was such a tiny hole. . .

Sure, he could probably afford a new player. He could even get Judy to pick it up for him if she was still out. But he’d had this player for a while. There were memories and stuff. And, he didn’t want to admit to Judy that he’d broken something.

Nick sighed, shaking his head. Naturally, he had to be almost done when something broke. He rerouted the TV itself, the speakers, the audio receiver, all of it without a single issue. Only Nick, the foolish fox he was, would manage to ruin the last step.

It looked like he could just pull it off the broken piece. But, his claws weren’t exactly ‘evolved’ for that purpose, and he couldn’t get a grip on it. Which meant that he had to hope that they had some option somewhere in the house.

Nick stood up, shaking his head as he made his way towards the kitchen. There had to be a set of pliers in there somewhere, right? Didn’t Judy have a tool/random drawer or something? He was pretty sure he’d seen some random tool bits section when he was cooking.

If he got it fixed immediately, Judy would never need to know he screwed up. The rabbit didn’t need any more fodder to call the fox a failure. She’d had more than enough this week to shave his backside as it was.

Nick stomped across the living room floor, shaking his head with personal disappointment. He carried the DVD player under his arm, in the hopes it could all be fixed in only a few seconds. One stupid mistake, but, at least it would be fairly simple to correct with the right tools. Heck, Nick figured it would take no time at all if there was a set of-

_Click._ Nick froze, as he heard the deadbolt of the front door slide open. A villainous sound, as he looked over, catching the sight of the door handle slowly turning. Of course. . . She had to come home now, didn’t she?

And there he was, an idiot. Standing right by the door, looking absolutely guilty and foolish while holding his broken DVD player. The fox had told her that he’d be done by the time she got back, and now she was going to have a field day. He was never going to hear the end of it, was he?

He opened his mouth, ready to respond as the door slowly swung open. All he needed to do was convince her it was already broken, or something, and then it couldn’t be that big of a deal, right?

However, as the door swung open, it revealed not one rabbit, but two.

Neither of which were Judy. Not even close. Nick felt his stomach drop, as he stood there. Who the hell were they? And how did they get a key? One was female, and one male, older. Wearing very. . . Farmy, clothing? Could they be-?

“Sweet cheese and crackers!” The female rabbit called out, as she immediately dug into her purse. That _had_ to be Judy’s mother, right? “P-put your paws up, thief!” She shouted aggressively, as she pulled out a tiny, pink cylinder, nervously holding it toward the fox.

A very. . . Familiar cylinder. “Uhh. . . “ Nick muttered, nervously. “Don’t. . . shoot?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oof. This will be. . . Interesting. As for our two protag's. . . I mean, at least one of them has to know they're wildy flirting with each other. Right?
> 
> So. Let's talk about police killings around the world. Specifically, I'm going to focus on police killings that are 'justified', so to speak, since there isn't much I could add to the many people speaking out about the unjust killings.
> 
> Most often times in 'justified' police killings, it is because an individual presented a threat to the life of an officer or another person. Gang shootings, such things like that. But, if you look at the statistics of this, most often times it is a person attacking a police officer with a knife.
> 
> When a person comes at an officer, officers are usually trained in a use of force model that recommends answering a level of force with an equal level of force. In the case of a knife, that is considered a lethal level of force, because it can kill you. Police often pull their guns, in the hope that the 'knife in a gunfight' consideration will occur, and the person will back down. That sometimes happens.
> 
> However, most people wielding a knife against a police officer are in a state of crisis. Whether by mental illness, or many other factors, this person often is not thinking in their right mind, and continues to go after the officer. The officer fires, the person is injured or they die. But, the question is, does it have to be that way?
> 
> In the UK, there are approximately 4 deaths a year to 'police killings' (That number also may include accidental deaths in police custody, such as heart attacks). Now, some might point out that some police are unarmed in the UK, and that may indeed contribute to that number. However, the police in Japan are armed. And, their yearly rate is around 2. America is in the 1500 range, even before these recent events. Canada is in the 50s range, which is pretty damn high considering our population.
> 
> You can't tell me that there are 'less' people with mental health issues in the UK and Japan. That's not likely, even given population differences. So, what are these officers in those countries doing when they are confronted by these issues? They aren't running away, obviously. Are they trained specially? Did they come with another person that was trained? Or, were the police called at all, deferring to a crisis responce centre? And, what would be necessary to implement this with police agencies around the world? These are all important questions, that I really don't know how to answer. One of these days, I hope to find out, though.
> 
> Thank you for reading my story, I hope you liked it. Please donate to any number of charities during these trying times, if you can. 
> 
> And, if anyone here is a great Zootopia fan, you may enjoy Beastars on Netflix, by Paru Itagaki (No, it's not copied from Zootopia, it's actually slightly older in many ways). My other story on here is based in that world, and it's just a slice of life 'possible happy ending', which I consider to be my greatest creation.


	8. Three Rabbits?! That's 'two' many for a Fox. . .

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>   
> _"All these 'furry science' chapters are made of Positivity and Acceptance, by the way. Keeps out the alt-rights. Let us know if you feel a shortness of tolerance for racism, a persistent desire to help your fellow human, or your heart growing to accept other people. Because that's not part of the chapter. That's the Positivity and Acceptance."_  
>  -Furry Johnson
> 
> Black Lives Matter, BIPOC Lives Matter, LGBTQIA2+ Rights & Lives Matter, no matter what some people try and say to us. This will not 'go away', this will not 'settle'. Not until there is justice for Elijah McClain, and Breonna Taylor, and so many more. The world is fed up with this bullshit, and I will be here as an ally if they want to tear symbols of oppression down. Let's all keep fighting for what's right.
> 
> Had a fun bout of fools last time. One created an account to complain, I'm so flattered. Another almost convinced me they had an earnest (misguided) point, but fucked up and revealed himself (I see you Mr. Mu. Unbookmark, my stories ain't for you). Another tried to link me to an unrelated issue I was already aware of and tried to use it as an 'all lives' thing. IDK, I didn't get it either. But alas, we continue.
> 
> 7th Peelian Principle: To maintain at all times a relationship with the public that gives reality to the historic tradition that the police are the public and that the public are the police, the police being only members of the public who are paid to give full-time attention to duties which are incumbent on every citizen in the interests of community welfare and existence.
> 
> Before the police existed, it was the citizen's duty to intervene and investigate when crimes occurred in a community (like, back in the olden-olden days). And, the point of this section is to remind the police of the fact that they are still members of the public, and that the public is their allies and friends when it comes to deterring or preventing crime. There have been attempts to return to this positive relationship with Community Policing initiatives. But, that would require a lot of effort to change. And, we've got a lot of evidence of how police agencies react to the word 'change'. . . Also, this puts a hole in the 'last line of defence/etc' legend they love to fall on. . . Also of note, this makes it clear that the duties of protecting your community are also a part of being a member of the community. Considering I know some people who literally had a video of a drug deal, and didn't think of turning it in to the police. This is an important principle, for everyone.
> 
> Also, I would like to thank Detective Wilde for their article about my story on ZNN, I'm really glad that you thought my story was worth being shared on the fandom's official news website! I never thought my writing was that good, thank you so much for that. Now, in this chapter, we get to find out if Nick dies of rabbit parent problems. . . Or what her parents are going to do with him, now that they have them. . . .Oh, Judy, where are you.
> 
> Disney owns this world, but again, Disney, please. Return my calls about writing the sequel. We can finally branch out into +18 movies. I promise it will be. . . Well, it'll be something anyway. You'll sell tickets to a lot of people.

Nick’s ears flipped back, as his eyes focused on the small spray can of Fox Away. And, the seemingly terrified rabbit that was holding it. If Nick had to guess, she’d never used the repellant before. There was about a 50-50 odds that she hadn’t turned off the locking mechanism.

But then, he also wasn’t sure if that model had one. . . He didn’t like any of those odds. But, as he looked into the female rabbit’s eyes, he felt less terror and more confusion as he saw her fear. Nick didn’t understand it. Why was she so scared?

Sure, he knew what it looked like. He knew it looked somewhat weird, a mammal walking around an apartment. holding a DVD player. But. . .

Did he truly look _that_. . . dangerous? That ‘criminal’? That they had to point that thing at him? He didn’t even know what the male rabbit was going for in his overalls, as he glared at the fox with one paw in one of his pockets. Maybe he had something? Maybe he didn’t? Either way, the angry look did little to hide the fact that the rabbit was terrified of the fox.

He winced, as he remembered the last rabbit who went for repellant. . . But, he didn’t want to relive that today, as he quickly racked his brain on how to de-escalate the situation. Before he ended up sprayed.

“Lets. . . Stay calm now. . . I’m going to put the DVD player down, okay?” He murmured, as he leaned down and carefully set the DVD player on the ground. He watched them carefully as he did, but that did nothing for their hostility as he again lifted his paws in surrender. In his own house, but, that was grief for another time.

“Oh, you’re not getting out of this, criminal. Call the cops, Stu!” The rabbit he assumed was Mrs. Hopps called to the other, who suddenly sprang into action, and pulled a phone out of his pocket. Oh boy. . . 

Nick slowly shook his head. “Um. . . You probably don’t want to do that. . . Mrs. Hopps, right?” He asked, as one ear flicked forward. The two rabbits seemed to pause, their mouths slightly agape as they looked at the fox. As expected, they seemed pretty surprised that the fox happened to know their last name. “And, you must be Mr. Hopps, right? You’re Judy’s parents?”

The male rabbit, dubbed ‘Stu’ by his wife, slowly lowered the phone. Thankfully, because having to explain this to his compatriots at the ZPD would be fairly embarrassing for everyone involved. Especially for them, since Nick was on the lease for the apartment, and owned the property in question. 

“How do you know Judy? What’re you doing in her apartment?” The male rabbit asked, voice laden with uncertainty. But, the wife still had that Fox Away trained right at him. For some reason, considering her expression had changed to surprise. He decided it was best to keep his paws in the air, lest she get a little trigger happy.

Nick nodded slowly. “My name’s Nick Wilde, and I live here with Judy. I’m her roommate.” He responded calmly, as he watched the two rabbits exchange looks.

“Wait. . . _You’re_ Nick?” The female rabbit chimed in, one brow raising in surprise. “Judy told us you might be here, but we never would’ve thought you were a fox.” She responded, sighing in relief as she lowered the offensive cylinder, and moved a paw to her chest as she took in a few deep breaths. “Oh, sweet cheese, that’s a relief.”

Still. Regardless of the bunny’s actions, Nick kept his paws up, as he looked between the two rabbits calming themselves down. He was glad they were calmer, but he still didn’t trust them. Also, he was trying to keep himself from frowning.

Yeah, sure. What a great relief for them. The ones who didn’t have a potentially dangerous chemical weapon pointed at them. Sure, great. He was so glad for the two of them. . . But, their comment also brought up a better question.

How the fuck did they get in? “So. . . . Did Judy give you a key, or. . . . ?” He questioned, as the two rabbits focused their attention back on the fox. Nick had to resist the urge to snort, as he watched their demeanour change before his eyes. Somehow, their faces had transformed into happy ones, as they smiled at him like they didn’t just threaten the fox.

“Oh, we met her at the train station! She said she had a few more errands to do, but, she gave us the key so we could come in and relax. Sorry about that, by the way. My name’s Stu, and this is my wife, Bonnie.” Stu responded gesturing to his wife.

Nick nodded slowly. “Nice to meet you, Stu and Bonnie Hopps.” He muttered, his paws still held above his head as they slowly made their way further into the apartment. So, Judy had met her parents, knew they were coming, and decided not to warn him?

Okay, that was unfair, his phone was still charging in his room. . . For all he knew, she’d done her best to warn him. It might have been his fault.

“Oh, put your paws down, it’s okay! Hey, are you the same fox that she worked with on that big case?” Stu said as the two rabbits began to look around the new apartment, like tourists. Nick slowly lowered his paws, as he nodded towards the two of them.

Nick had only heard tales about Judy’s parents, and their history with foxes. But, he now believed what Judy said about them. And, he saw where Judy had gotten it from. . . “Yes. . . I’m also her partner with the ZPD. . . I’m going to pick up my thing again, so you know.” He spoke quietly, as he slowly lowered himself down to pick up the DVD player.

He still watched the two rabbits, as Stu wandered into the kitchen, and the mother walked into the living room. But, at the mention of the ZPD, they both turned to face the fox again. “Really? That’s pretty. . . Nifty? How long has that been going on?” Stu responded curiously, as Nick slowly walked towards the kitchen and the rabbit, clutching the player carefully.

Nick shrugged as he approached Stu. “Officially, we started last week. . . You can relax on the couch if you want. I’ll have the TV set up again soon.” He offered, hoping to distract the rabbits as he side-stepped Stu into the kitchen. began looking in the drawers for a set of pliers.

“Oh, no worries! We just wanna look around first, check out Judy’s new apartment.” Stu responded, as he quickly thumped his way out of the kitchen and into the living room. Nick, on the other hand, quickly found the pliers and started carefully pulling the broken piece out of the socket.

If he was a good host, he’d show them around. But at the moment, Nick would much rather stand to the side and watch the two rabbits from a distance. They went from threatening him to being nice fairly quickly, which amazed him. Without apologizing, he did note.

He needed a bit of time to calm himself, or he might be snappy with them about that. Therefore, he was going to fix this damned DVD player, like he planned to. And right now, that was taking most of his focus.

He needed to be careful, not to bend or break the connection part of the player. He leaned down, getting his vision right on the target, and slowly began to wiggle it out. At first, it didn’t want to move, as expected considering its corrosion.

But, little by little, it slowly made its way out. As it finally slid free, Nick grinned happily and tossed the broken bit into the nearby trashcan. And that’s when he heard the two rabbits opening a door, and he felt his ear twitch. They weren’t looking in his room, were they?

He turned around and saw Judy’s parents standing in front of Judy’s room, luckily, as they let the door swing open. They turned to Nick, smiling at him as his brows furrowed slightly. “Is this Judy’s room?” Bonnie asked, pointing to the open door in front of them. Yeah, that may have been a question to ask before opening doors. . . Nick frowned and picked up the DVD player.

He walked to the door of his room and nodded to the two rabbits. “Yeah, that’s her room. This room’s mine, and the door at the end there is the bathroom.” He responded, more upbeat than he felt. But, Nick was nothing if not a good actor.

If they were going to be here anyway, he was probably better off not being too standoffish, or rude. Besides, being friendly towards Judy’s parents could be beneficial. “I’m just grabbing some things to finish putting the living room together. Then, when you're done looking around, we could chat, or watch something in the living room if you like?” He responded as he opened the door to his room. Anything to discourage their further inspection of his home.

They nodded in response, as he smiled at them. Nick was a sly fox. . . He’d be able to convince them that he wasn’t bad, right? It wasn’t the first Hopps he’d converted, after all. “Sure! That sounds fun! You can tell us how you met Judy, n’ all that stuff.” Stu responded as he looked at his wife with a nod and a smile.

Did they mean that. . . Although, did it really matter? It was up to Nick to make them like him by the end of the day, and he was sure he was up to the task. Maybe even before Judy got back. . . 

How fun it would be to have her parents on his side?

Nick quickly found a replacement cable for the DVD player in his room. Power cables were the kind of thing that he always kept handy. You never knew when one might crap out, or if you might find a new-to-you electronic that was missing cords.

And, since he was there, Nick did check his phone charging on his nightstand. Four missed calls, one voicemail, and three texts, all from Carrots. As she said in her final text, ‘Don’t say I didn’t try and let you know’. She did do her best, it was just too bad that Nick didn’t have his phone on him.

When Nick re-entered the living room -after closing his bedroom door securely-, the two rabbits were still in Judy’s room, taking a look around and enjoying the view from the large floor-length windows that their daughter enjoyed.

It was quite a view, he had to admit. Just one he didn’t want to see early in the morning.

But, the fox immediately busied himself with finishing up the entertainment system. He plugged the DVD player back in and routed all of the cords behind the stand all neat and tidy-like. While he finished up with that, the two rabbits finally emerged and checked out the rest of the apartment.

Luckily, they decided not to try and take a look in Nick’s room. At least they seemed to pick up on that social cue and left his door closed.

There wasn’t anything interesting, or incriminating (that was visible) in his room. He wasn’t that type of guy. But still, that was his private place. It was where Nick could do whatever he wanted. Walk around naked if he wanted to. Scratch and itch yourself, with front or back paws.

He spent a lot of time living on his own, he sometimes missed the ability to declare clothes entirely optional for a day. But, then again, Judy’s company was something he was willing to give that up for. . . Besides, his room here was almost as big as his entire apartment before, anyway. Walking around naked in there was good enough for him.

Either way, he was getting distracted, as he plugged the DVD player into the surge protector behind the tv-stand. With that, everything should have been put back together. Hopefully, that meant that he would never have to take this thing apart again. As he hit the on button on the DVD player and the TV, he could hear the two rabbits chatting in the kitchen about how small it was compared to theirs, but very ergonomic.

It was small to those two, technically. This apartment wasn’t designed to feed hundreds of people. The DVD player lit up, and the TV screen switched to the brand’s title page as everything slowly whirred to life.

Nick smiled, as he looked at the now-organized stand. He’d even managed to put all of his and her videos away in the drawers on the side, making the entire living room look good. . . Okay, maybe he should have done this sooner. And, Judy was right. But Judy was always right, wasn’t she?

His ears flicked to the side, as he heard the two rabbits approaching. He scooted over on the ground, turning to face them and get out of the way of the TV. “Well, it’s all back together now. . . Is there something that you wanted to watch?” He asked, smiling at them.

“Oh, nothing really, dear. . . But, I am curious about how you and Judy met if you don’t mind me asking.” Bonnie spoke sweetly, as she plopped down on the couch with her husband. Well. . . He should’ve expected they would have questions about him.

“Yeah! How did you meet our little Jude? That must be some tale, huh?” The boisterous Stu added as he gave his wife a nudge with his elbow, smiling. And then, the two rabbits levelled their gaze at the fox, smiling at him.

He smiled back warmly, as he nodded slightly. But inside, he was panicking.

Why couldn’t they just watch a movie, and chat idly? Their story. . . Didn’t exactly begin very positively. And considering they already thought he was a criminal only a few minutes ago. . . “Well. . . I don’t know what Judy might have told you, but, I met her well before I joined the ZPD. I was a. . . street vendor at the time, and. . . She was seeking my help in finding one of my customers, who’d gone missing. I was one of the last people to see him, on the day he disappeared.” Nick spoke, spinning the truth slightly.

He didn’t need to tell them about the legal or illegal aspects. . . Right? “Oh? What were you selling?” Stu asked, grinning widely.

Nick nodded. “Pawpsicles. A hot ticket item, in Sahara Square. Yeah, we sold a lot back then. . .”

The fox did his best to regale them with the tale of his and Judy rather curious first partnership, choosing to leave out some of the more ‘questionable’ bits of the tale.

They didn’t need to know about the time that he swindled her out of $20. How he was a lying, cheating fox. Or. . . How he called her entire town a bunch of carrot farmers. How he said she was going to fail. And how she’d never be a real cop. . . . But ‘at least she was a cute meter maid’. . . He was a shitty fox back then. Come to think of it, he owed her an apology for that.

Instead, he talked about how he helped her find out where he’d gone, and how he’d used his ‘connections’ to find the person who last saw Emmett Otterton, Mr. Manchas the Limo driver. He left out his antagonistic attitudes towards her the entire time, though. He hated himself enough for that. But, he did make it clear that the rabbit’s wiles were what convinced him to help, as much as he could.

He made it quite clear that their daughter was an incredibly good officer, and got his cooperation even when he wasn’t sure about helping the ZPD at first. Then, he focused on the good points of his time with her. When he stood up for her job, despite the oppressive attitude of Chief Bogo.

That seemed to enthrall the rabbits. The idea of a fox, standing up for their daughter, was something that they seemed not to expect. And that’s just what he leaned into, as he talked about how he was the one who realized that traffic cameras might have the answer, and how with her connections at city hall they were able to access those cameras.

Then, their daring journey to the old asylum, and how they snuck into it and uncovered the Mayor’s cover-up operation. The exciting part, about how they triumphed, and Judy managed to beat all expectations and solve a crime that the rest of the ZPD couldn’t.

And then, he walked right into the biggest issue with this tale, as the two eager parents asked. “What did you do next?” They were practically sitting on the edge of their seat listening to this epic tale.

The press conference. . . And Nick didn’t know how to spin that. . . Very well. . . Especially on Judy’s behalf. Oh well, one more lie. “Well, she did the press conference, and after that, the ZPD started treating her as an officer, so. . . she went to her job for a while, and things happened in that, I guess, because she left the force. But then, one day, this very familiar rabbit showed up, and asked for my help again.” He muttered, before he shrugged with a grin. “And, we found out who was really behind it all, and took down our second mayor. . . Kind of bad stats for mayors in Zootopia, really.”

They nodded. “Yeah, but, what happened between you two after the press conference, and before that? Our Judy’s not one to drop her friends like that. . . You two were friends, weren’t you?” Bonnie asked, nodding with a grin. “I’m sure you two must’ve hung out at least a few times before she came home to us?”

Judy’s parents were not going to let this go, were they? Sure, Nick did see Judy a few times after the press conference. . . He ‘saw’ her, as in saw her and ducked into the nearest alleyway or alcove. As far as he knew, she’d never seen him.

“We. . . weren’t that close at the time. It wasn’t until after she came back to Zootopia and apolo-“ He paused, as he realized the mistake held made. The two rabbits were looking at him, ears drooping as they looked at him with sad, and concerned expressions. Did they. . . Oh no.

“Judy told us she hurt a good friend when she came home. . . That was you, wasn’t it?” Bonnie spoke, nodding slightly towards the fox. Instinctively, his ears fell, as he tried to think of a way to salvage his lie. But, there wasn’t going to be one.

. . . Did she really think he was a ‘good friend’, then? Maybe she meant Ben? No, Nick knew better than that.

He nodded. “Yeah. . . That might have been me.” He looked down at his crossed hind paws and poked at the carpet a bit. “But, she apologized, and we solved the case, so, it all worked out I guess.” He continued, although it was clear that the formerly ‘happy storytime’ vibe had turned.

For about a minute, there was just silence between them. Stu looked at his wife for a bit, with a sad look, before he cleared his throat to speak. “Well, I’m sure that Judy meant it when she apologized. She was pretty destitute over what happened when she came back home. . . . Nick, I want to apologize for how we’ve treated you, too.”

Stu began, as his wife nodded along. “Yes, we both do. . . Judging you like that was wrong, and speciesist.”

Nick lifted his head, as he looked between the rabbits. They looked. . . Pretty sincere. Late was better than never, he guessed. “Its. .” He began before Stu Hopps raised a paw.

“Oh no, it is _not_ okey-doky, we ought to know better than that. Whether Judy didn’t tell us you were a fox or not, we came into your home. We should have asked at minimum. Sweet cheese and crackers, Bon, we threatened him! In his own home. . .” Stu shook his head. “I ain’t got no excuse, _we_ ain't got no excuse for that.”

Bonnie nodded for a moment, before shaking her head. Then, she grabbed her purse and opened it as Nick leaned back cautiously. “This thing belongs in the trash. I’m so sorry Nick. Do you. . Have a trashcan or something handy?” She asked, as she pulled the spray out again and held it gingerly before her. As if she hadn't just wielded it against him.

Nick raised his paws. While he was glad for the gesture. . . He didn’t like the dangling. “Just. . . Put it on the table, I’ll throw it in the trash later. . . Thanks, for apologizing-”

Stu shook his head. “Now, don’t even think of forgiving us right now, we gotta earn that. Ever since Judy talked to us, we’ve been tryin’ to do better. But. . We got a lot of years of stupidity to work through, and that’s our burden, not yours.” Bonnie dropped the cylinder on the table, disgusted.

“I’m so sorry for the way we barged into your home, too,” Bonnie added, as she shook her head. Stu nodded along. “Bunnies are very open about our own homes, but, we should’ve asked you before we stomped around like that. It wasn’t fair to you at all.”

Nick nodded along, agreeing with the sentiment. At least they were acknowledging what they did, earnestly. He guessed he could understand their mistake, considering their upbringing. Foxes were way less social and open than rabbits were, in his experience. Normally, Nick never trusted apologies immediately, especially over something like this.

But. . . The distress in their voice, the way they looked and talked about what happened. . . The earnest rejection of their attitudes. It reminded him of another Hopps’ apology. And, he had a feeling it wasn’t just them covering their ass. Most would be begging for forgiveness, and for people to move on.

“Thank you for your apologies.” He began, as the rabbits raised their fingers. Yeah, he understood what they were going for. “Don’t worry, I won’t forgive you yet. . . But, I still accept your apologies nonetheless.”

“Still, we’ve got to prove ourselves before we deserve forgiveness. And I want you to be a part of that if you’re willing. If we ever do anything that upsets you or is offensive, I want you to catch us and point it out. I want everyone to feel comfortable policing our words if it’ll help us be better bunnies. Better _mammals_. . . We need to be better.” Stu reiterated as he looked at his wife. They brought their hands together and nodded to one another.

“Thanks.” Nick murmured, not sure what else he was supposed to say at that point. Should he try to change the subject? Maybe? For a moment, he let the silence hang, as the two rabbits looked at one another with. . . Strange expressions. Then, the two rabbits turned back to him with somewhat eery smiles.

“And. . .” Stu began, his voice filled with earnest. “I want you and Judy to know that you can be open with us about your relationship. We support it, all the way.”

Nick nodded instinctively. “Thanks. . .” And then, his brain caught up with the words. “What?”

“We think you’re a really nice mammal. . . and if Judy’s happy, we’re happy.”

Judy arrived back home a little later than she had wanted, as she walked up to the apartment door. But, Nick would have been able to survive, right? With her hands occupied with bags, she balanced on a foot paw and twisted the door handle open with the other as she wondered what might be beyond the door.

It wasn’t like she didn’t try and get a hold of Nick, after all. When she gave her parents her keys to the building, she had immediately done her best to try and contact him. But, for whatever reason, he never answered.

He was probably busy and didn’t look at his phone. But, that was to his detriment, this time. He was supposed to keep his phone on his person at all times as a police officer, just in case the ZPD needed to call in additional officers for something.. And now, he was suffering the consequences of her parents, who she was sure had a lot of questions for the fox.

The door swung open, and she walked through with her hands full of groceries. Immediately to her left, she saw her parents seated on the couch, chatting as a show played on the television. And there, sitting off to the side on the floor, was a fox with a very. . . concerned expression? He looked like he was being tortured, or something, as his green, wide eyes instantly locked with hers.

Well, she did try and warn him. Her parents were pretty chatty. “Hello everyone.” She called out happily, as she put her bags down by the door. “Are we getting along?” She added as she carried the grocery bags into the kitchen. She needed to put away the perishable stuff, especially since they were going to need to cook a little extra tonight.

If Nick survived an hour with them, he’d be able to survive beside them for the next few minutes, right? “Oh, I think we’re getting to know each other well, don’t you agree, Nick?” Bonnie asked, as she turned and looked at Nick while Judy began to put away the groceries.

“It started weird, but apparently that’s just a Hopps thing. . . I’d say it’s gone well since then.” Nick answered with a quick nod. What did he mean about it starting weird? Well, then again, she imagined it might’ve been pretty awkward to not know your roommate’s parents were visiting. . . Again, she did try her best.

“That’s good to hear, bud. And, we’re sorry about that, again. . . I’m glad you’ve put up with us, askin’ you all these questions about the city ‘n all that.” Her father responded happily. That ‘sorry’ made Judy a little concerned. . . But, calling Nick ‘bud’? They must have been getting along. That pleased Judy, as she finished putting away the last of the perishable groceries. The rest of them could wait until after their parents went off to their hotel they booked.  
Despite their earnest attempt, Judy was not going to allow them to sleep on their couch. For a whole lot of good reasons, including that it would have to be Nick’s decision as well.

And she was pretty sure that Nick didn’t want to have to deal with his roommate’s parents in the morning. Getting them dropped on him in the middle of the day was probably enough. Judy had told them when her days off were, but somehow she didn’t expect they were asking so that they could show up on their doorstep. 

If she had known, before they texted her from the train station, she would’ve warned Nick well in advance. She put the rest of the stuff on the counter and walked towards the living room, smiling. Her parents were still chatting with Nick, who still seemed pretty unsettled for some reason.

As she approached the couch, intending to take a seat with her parents, she spotted out of the corner of her eye a familiar pink object. Whatever it was, it wasn’t there this morning, what could it be? She paused in front of the couch and turned to look at the small cylinder sitting out in the open on the table.

_Fuck._ Instantly, she felt the anger build to a boiling point as she reached down and snatched the Fox Away off the table, and turned to her parents with a growl. “Seriously!? What are you two doing!? Have you been _threatening_ my roommate?! I can’t believe you two!” She shouted, as she turned towards the kitchen, and angrily chucking the cursed cylinder across the room and into the trash can.

Somewhat anticlimactically, she missed, and it clattered between the trash can and the fridge. But, the point was made as she turned back to face her parents. The two rabbits were holding their paws out towards her, as they frantically tried to calm her anger. “W-wait, Jude, before you go off-“ But, it was too late for that.

She took in a deep, anger-fueled breath, as the two elder rabbit’s ears flopped down. Judy wasn’t going to scream. . . But, they weren’t going to mistake her for being happy anytime soon. “How could you? Were you leaving that on the table as a threat? What has Nick ever done to _you_?” She asked, as calm as she could manage at the moment with her paws on her hips. They never even met Nick before, how could they do something like that?

That was the reason that Nick looked so terrified when she came in, wasn’t it? Did they just plop it on the table, as some kind of warning to her friend? ‘Don’t try anything’, or something like that. Her father stuttered for a few seconds, trying to come up with an answer for the angry rabbit. Judy had already decided that no excuse was going to be good enough for her. No, her parents were-

“Hold on there, Carrots,” Nick called from her left, her head snapping to face the fox. He was leaning towards her on his knees, hands out between her parents and her, with a concerned expression. “They were throwing it out, fluff. It’s all just a misunderstanding. That’s why it was on the table. . . .After we talked for a bit, they felt bad for having it, and. . . wanted to throw it out.” The fox murmured, as he locked his eyes with her and slowly nodded.

She glanced back to her parents, who were nodding along with what the fox said. . . That story seemed pretty cobbled together to her. Judy looked back to Nick, one ear cocking out to the side slightly. “Is that everything that happened, Nick?” She asked, with a slight nod.

If he’d already lied once. . . Would Nick tell her the truth if she asked? Either way, she would be able to get the truth out of him later, at least. “Yeah, it is. . . When they first came in it was a little tense; they didn’t expect a fox was your roommate, naturally. But, after we cleared that up, we bonded for a bit. They wanted to throw it out of their own accord, and they put it on the counter. . . That’s the truth.” He responded, turning to smile at her parents with a small nod.

He didn’t seem to be lying. . . Although that was probably a pretty big half-truth. But, at least it was a story coming from Nick. She sighed and shook her head as she turned to face her concerned parents. “Alright, but, still. . . It shouldn’t have mattered what species my roommate was. . . I’m very disappointed in you two.”

Her parents nodded. “We know, honey, and we know better and should have done better. . . We’re so sorry, to both you and Nick.” Her mother murmured, as her father nodded along. Well. . . At least they seemed genuinely sorry to her. But, Judy wasn’t the person that they needed to apologize to.

She turned on her heels, to face the fox who was still sitting on the floor. “It’s Nick that your apology is important to. . . Well? Do you think they have done enough to forgive them, Nick? What else should they do to make it up to you?” She asked as she pouted towards the fox. Judy knew how her parents could be. Whatever the other side of that truth was could be anything from slight comments to slurs. “Not that you have to forgive them, of course.”

Nick nodded slowly. “They seem to sincerely want to do better, so, there’s that. . . I’m accepting their apology. I know how hard it is to quit bad habits.” He responded as he frowned at Judy. “I. . . Made some generalizations myself in the past, which I deeply regret. I’m still working on making up for that myself.” The fox murmured, as he looked at the three rabbits. Her parents nodded in return, relieved.

“Thank you, Nick. I promise, we’ll do better, and we’ll prove it to you. And, to everyone.” Her mother spoke, as her father grunted in agreement.

“Yeah. We might still be dumb bunnies, but, we’re going to do our best to be better.” Her father chimed in, as they looked back at their daughter.

Judy had moved her paws from her hips, crossing them in front of her as she listened to them talk. Well, if Nick was accepting the apology. . . She could always ask him after they left, to see what really happened. Then she’d decided if she was going to forgive her parents or not.

But. . . For now, there wasn’t much she could do. She took in a deep breath and sighed heavily. “Alright. . . Well, I’ve got your _promise_ to do better now, at least. And you guys had better get rid of all of your speciesist ‘protection’ garbage at home, too.” She asserted as they nodded in response, smiling.

“Definitely Jude, it’s all going in the bin when we get home,” Stu added. “We owe it to every fox and predator.”

Speaking of, Judy needed to remember to toss that spray out later. . . But, she should probably take this opportunity to change the subject. Otherwise, the entire night would be fairly tense. “So. . . What have you guys been chatting about? Has Nick bribed you into trying his amazing carrot cake yet?” She asked, looking towards Nick with a grin. 

He tried to frown at her, although she could see the hints of a grin in the corners. As much as Nick probably didn’t like being outed, he also loved cooking for people. She made an urgent trip to the grocery store after her parents showed up f

“Ooo, carrot cake?” Her mother chimed in, looking between her daughter and Nick with a big smile.

Nick sighed, shaking his head as he stood up slowly. “I’ll get the pans out. . .”

“Thanks for letting us come by Judy, it was really great to see you. And, it was great to meet you, Nick!” Her mother spoke, as her parents stood at the threshold of their open apartment door. They had an early train in the morning, so they weren’t going to be able to meet up tomorrow. But, at least they’d had several hours and a good meal before they left.

Judy held the door open, as Nick stood by the kitchen and waved to them with a grin. “Oh, and thanks for the carrot cake, Nick. That was some damn good cake, sweet cheese and crackers.” Her dad chimed in, as he double-checked his pockets.

“Why, thank you so much. . . . I’m sure your family is going to enjoy that recipe.” He responded cheerfully. Judy shook her head, as her parents slowly made their way through the doorway. She suspected her mother would pester him for the recipe, and she was right.

But, Nick was very willing to give, making amusing comments about how all the rabbits wanted to know his cake recipe. He was such a juvenile fox, it was amazing to think he was older than her. “See you soon.” She murmured, as she slowly closed the door behind her parents.

But, right before it could close fully, a paw landed on the other side, and her father stuck his head back through. He looked slightly. . . worried. “Uh, hey, Jude, before we go. . .” He murmured, her sensitive ears flicking forward at the sound.

Was he trying to say something without Nick hearing it? Judy’s brows narrowed, cocking her head to the side as she leaned in towards her father. “What’s up?” She asked as she looked at her father with a curious expression.

“Is. . . he your boyfriend?” Her father asked quietly, a slight nervous sound in his voice.

Wait. What? Judy shook her head. “No?” She murmured, surprised. Why did her father think that?

“C-cause, if he is, I just wanted you to know we’re okay with it. You don’t need to worry ‘bout hiding it from us, we support you. We asked him, but, he didn’t say nothin’.” Her father continued in his hushed voice, as Judy frowned.

“Thanks, Dad, that’s nice and supportive of you. . . But, we’re not dating. He’s just a friend.”

Her father’s eyes narrowed for a second before he nodded again and looked away. “Okay then. . . Well, see ya, Jude.” He finished, ducking out as she slowly closed the door behind him.

“See you later. . .” She murmured, shaking her head with a light snort. Did her parents think that she’d try and keep that big of a secret from them?

As she turned around, to see a smirking fox, she giggled quietly. Was that why he looked so. . . Concerned when she came in? That would make a lot of sense, wouldn’t it? Her parents could be so loud about such things. She could imagine the poor fox, being riddled with questions about whether or not they were dating.

And, knowing her parents, they never really believed the thought that someone might not be attracted to their daughter. It was flattering, in a lot of ways. If a little overbearing for whatever poor soul they cornered.

Judy wanted to know what they’d chatted about, and how Nick dealt with that. But, as her smile faded a bit, she had a more important question hanging in her mind. “So. . . What happened when they got here, Nick?” She asked gently, as she walked up to the fox.

His smile faded a bit, as he crossed his arms. Yeah, that confirmed he was only telling her a part of the story. . . “It was a little tense. . . That is the truth. But, I’m guessing that answer isn’t going to satisfy you, is it?” He spoke, raising a brow at the rabbit.

She shook her head, as she looked up at the fox. He was right, she wouldn’t accept that. She wanted to know what really happened.

“They kind of. . . thought I was a thief when they came in. Your mother pulled the fox repellent out, and they were about to call the cops when I explained everything to them. . . It’s not-“ He started, as she sighed angrily, abruptly turned and thumped angrily over to the couch.

She fell into it with another frustrated sigh, as she shook her head. “I can’t believe it. I’m so sorry, Nick. . . I never thought they’d do that. .” She grumbled, sadly very unsurprised with what her parents had done. They did try and give her a fox taser less than a year ago.

But this time, it wasn’t just her parent’s mistake. Judy was the one who let them come there. She gave them the key. Why didn’t she go with them? Or, maybe had them join her while she shopped? But then, would that have fixed the problem? Or just hidden it.

Judy’s ears turned towards the sound of the fox, as he slowly padded his way behind her, and leaned over the couch cushions to her right. She turned and looked at the fox, who had crossed his arms and was resting his head upon them.

“Hey, it’s not your fault, Judy. . . Everything turned out okay, right? I didn’t get ‘repelled’, your parents ate my cake, everything’s fine.” Nick spoke cheerfully, as he smiled at her.

Judy sighed, as she rolled her eyes at Nick. “I’m sorry, Nick.” She murmured with a sigh. The fox snorted and vaulted over the back of the couch.

He landed on the cushion deftly, shaking his head as he settled into the couch properly. “Their actions are not your fault, Carrots. I know I might be a little more lackadaisical about this than you, but, that’s because you didn’t get to see their passionate speech, their disgusted rejection of their actions, and your mother dangling that spray like a rotten carrot.” He spoke whimsically, obviously attempting to cheer her up. “I’m serious, I’m okay, fluff.” He spoke whimsically, as he smiled at her.

A single laugh escaped at the image of her mother revolted at the spray. Given that she was all for it before, that was quite a switch. But, the problem wasn’t that Nick was ‘okay’, it was the fact that he went through it at all. . . But, she slowly nodded, as she decided it was best to follow his desire to drop the subject. “. . . So. . . What was with that look you gave men when I came in, then?” She asked as she smiled at him.

She had her suspicions. . . He smirked, rolling his eyes. “Just about the same thing your dad asked you at the door.” He teased, eyebrows waving up and down. It didn’t surprise her that her father underestimated those adorable dark brown ears.

Judy chuckled, shaking her head. “Yeah, I’m sorry about that. . . My parents can be pretty overbearing about _that_. If I spend more than a few days with a person, they jump onto the whole ‘date’ train pretty quickly. How long did it take you to convince them we weren’t in a relationship?” She asked, imagining the poor fox trying to explain himself to her parents.

They worked together, they were friends, and they lived together. It wasn’t hard for people to imagine that there was something more afoot here. Her parents would’ve jumped on that line of thinking in a second.

However, they were wrong. Nick snorted. “Well, I thought I’d managed to get through to them shortly before you got here. But, judging by what your father said at the door. . .” Nick murmured, as he frowned. Her father underestimated a fox’s ears. “. . . I’d say I failed miserably.”

Judy nodded. “I’m sure you tried your best, Nick. They can be pretty persistent about that.”

Nick chuckled, shaking his head. “You’re telling me. . . . After the first hour, they almost started to convince _me_ that we were in a relationship. It was kind of trippy, I gotta say.”

“Ha, yeah. It’s as if they were taught the ‘Reed Method’ of interviewing, eh?”

The fox shrugged, as he picked up the TV remote. “Yeah. . . They had a very compelling argument, you know. . .” He teased, as he popped open the Netflocks app. As extensive as his movie cabinet was, it had its limits. And, they were paying for the good internet for a reason.

“Har-Har, slick. You’re _so_ funny. . . What’s new on Netflocks?” Judy rolled her eyes, as Nick clicked his way through the menus.

“I saw an interesting trailer for a whacky anime. . . If, you’re up for that?”

“Oh, definitely! I love foreign animation.”

It was the middle of the night, and Nick Wilde was washing his hands in the bathroom, absentmindedly. The lights were still off, and his eyes were barely open as the hiss of the water sprayed onto his fingers.

His night addled brain told him it was only about a minute since he’d slid out of bed, and thumped his way to the bathroom. He told himself it was just going to be a quick run in, out, and back to bed.

Truth was, Nick had been plagued with a run of bad sleep tonight anyway, and by now, was barely operating on autopilot. Nick wasn’t sure, but it felt like past midnight. Possibly. He didn’t want to know, honestly.

Maybe it was something he ate. Maybe he was getting sick. Or, maybe it was because of everything that happened today. Between getting fox repellant pulled on him, and then being ‘nicely’ interrogated by her parents, it was certainly an exhausting afternoon. Then they sat up for a few hours and went to bed, and now he was here.

But, maybe after his little bathroom break, he would be able to get some sleep. He stared at the sleepy-looking fox in the mirror, as he turned the taps of the sink off with a sigh. He didn’t work tomorrow. He could sleep in, and get up past noon.

Unless that rabbit woke him up sooner, of course. . . She loved her early morning exercise. But, that was a problem for the morning. Right now, he needed to do his best to salvage the night.

He turned to the door, and lazily thumped his way to it. He swung it open and began to quickly walk his way back to his room, his eyes sealed shut.

At this time of night, the moon streamed into the house from the living room window. And, on a full moon like tonight, it was way brighter than Nick wanted to deal with. It didn’t matter though, Nick knew the route to his room like the back of his-

_Thud_.

He felt his lower half run into a soft unidentified object, and he immediately stopped in confusion. He slowly blinked his eyes in the intense moonlight, trying to make out the object in front of him. There wasn’t any furniture between his room and the bathroom. . . . At least not on his way here.

He looked down, his eyes adjusting slowly to the light contrast as they recognized the small object in front of him.

He blinked a few times more, as the picture sharpened. Was that . . . . _It's just Judy._ He thought dismissively, as he shook his head slightly. “Sorry, fluff” He mumbled sleepily, as he watched the rabbit carefully. She must’ve needed to use the washroom, too. . . That was pretty random.

However, the rabbit’s purple eyes were staring down. . . At his legs? And, she looked somewhat. . . Surprised. Nick looked down, eyes fluttering as he tried to see what she was staring at.

And then, the two emerald eyes shot open, as he realized what had happened.

As was his custom, Nick was buck-ass nude when he rolled out of bed. He didn’t see the need for clothes in the middle of the night, usually. In his bachelor suite, he never needed to worry about getting dressed for bathroom trips, but. . . Oh, Fuck.

He swiftly moved his paws, tail flying between his legs as he tried to cover himself up. Judy’s gaze finally turned upward, as she looked up at the fox with sleep-filled eyes. “S-sorry, Carrots. I-“

He began, but the rabbit swiftly turned and walked around him. She reached out a paw, and softly patted his stomach as she went past towards the bathroom he’d just left.

“I have over a hundred brothers. . . I’ve seen a lot worse, slick. . . . Goodnight.” Her soft, tired voice called out in a yawn as she walked into the bathroom. Nick watched her go from his shoulder, eyes wide in horror as his brain slowly worked through what he had done.

But, the rabbit merely closed the bathroom door and swiftly turned the lock. For a moment, the fox just stood there, trying to figure out what had just happened. She’d seen. . . Well, just about everything. He didn’t know how much lighting rabbits needed to see in the dark, but it was probably less light than the moon was beaming in.

And. . . She patted his stomach, and pretended like it hadn’t happened. . . Was that the best way to react to this. But, he suddenly realized that he couldn’t just stand there trying to figure it out, or she was going to come out again. And, _see_ him again.

He quickly padded his way into his room, and quietly closed the door behind him. As the lock slid into place, he turned to look at his waiting bed. But, with his racing heart, he doubted that he had much chance to sleep now.

That was. . . Weird, right? She should have yelled at him at least, right? Wait, when she ran into him. . . It was definitely weird. . . . Or, maybe she was just being realistic and adult about it.

Yeah, Judy was a mature rabbit. She was just being mature, and attempting to brush it off was the best way. He thumped his way over and flopped onto the bed.

He needed to get his mind off of what just happened. . . What Judy had just stared at. And ran into, he reminded himself. He was naked, there wasn’t much in between them when he dully ran into her like a fool.

That was it, he was never leaving the room without shorts, just to be safe. Why the hell wasn’t he doing that before?

He sighed, as he stared at the white ceiling. . . Was he ever going to fall asleep tonight?

In another room, however, a rabbit was dealing with her own conundrum. Judy was sitting on the toilet, blinking slowly with her head in her paws, as she thought about what had happened.

Judy grew up in a household with several immature males. Males that weren’t exceptionally smart. She needed more paws to count the times that she’d accidentally walked in on them doing all sorts of things, in bathrooms and sometimes just in random rooms in the house. 

Some mammals didn’t understand how to work a lock, she swore. . . Or, that maybe there was a better place for some things.

She’d walked in on several of her brothers naked, masturbating, and sometimes even worse. . . Having sex with your girlfriend in the communal laundry room was a dumb idea she never understood.

But, that was just it. She’d seen way worse. And, it was way worse with her family, since she was forced to see her relatives naked, right? Seeing Nick naked, at least there wasn’t that level of. . . Awkwardness, right? Sure, she didn’t really. . . _want_ to see that, at the moment. She wasn't denying that Nick was an attractive fox, of course, but, she had never gone so far to start imagining him without clothing before. He was sexy enough in a uniform, honestly. But still, it wasn’t that bad that it happened, right?

Sure, it was a tad awkward because they were roommates, but. . . It was just an accident. No, it would be fine. If she didn't make a big deal of it, Nick wouldn't.

. . . She did have one question, though. Why in the hell did she pat his stomach?

“That wasn’t. . . . too weird. . . was it?” She murmured to herself.

_”Your roommate washed his hands for two minutes straight! Whatever he did in there, it was probably pretty weird!”_ She heard Pronk shout through the wall, clearly not aware of anything that’d just happened. Luckily. . .

She shook her head with a soft, slightly annoyed snort. “Thanks, Pronk.”

Nick glanced at the clock, before staring back up at the ceiling. It had been fifteen minutes. He wasn’t going to get any sleep like. . . _this._ He sighed, shaking his head as he rolled over, and dug his paw underneath the bed.

That damned magazine was under there somewhere. . . It would be weird and creepy to think about your roommate while trying to deal with your urges. But. . . If any bun would do, then that was perfectly okay, right?

Right?

* * *

Sergeant Wolfard had been waiting for today for a long time. Or rather, just hoping that it would happen. Hoping to be taken off the trainee track, and return to regular policing. And. . . To be partnered with Fangmeyer again. Now, as he saw the tiger walk through the doors to the nightshift bullpen, he didn’t have to hope any longer.

They walked over, and took the seat right next to the wolf, as he nodded to them. “Good evening, Officer Fangmeyer. How are you?”

They smiled as they settled into the chair with their coffee. “I’m good, _sergeant_ Wolfard. I leave you for a little while, and you start collecting ranks, hmmm?” They responded as the wolf heard that telltale purring chuckle.

“Yeah, it’s been a while. . . I’m looking forward to being your partner, though. I hope I live up to your standards.” He spoke respectfully and nodded to the tiger.

The tiger snorted and shook their head. “If you remember what I taught you, I have no doubt you’ll do more than impress me.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>   
> Tsk, frisky Judy, slappin' Nick's belly. . . Also, a little insight into how our 'other' group is going, proving that Nick and Judy aren't the only ones with a little _tension_ going on.
> 
> As for a policing historical fact, there was a study once to see if different coloured police uniforms would change the public's opinion of the police. Silly, right? They tried brown shirts and light blue shirts. Strange coincidence, they actually worked. Public approval of the police in those areas increased by a notable amount. Another strange thing, positive reviews of individual officers increased, as police officers seemingly started acting nicer with the public, somehow. Strangely, it had a psychological effect on the officers and the public. It seemed like an easy bonus for co-operating with the public, and policing in general, right? Well. . . Look at most police uniforms today. Remember how I said they don't like change?
> 
> Alright, the rest of this ending is just for those angry people who are headed for the comments. Probably fruitless, but I like sharing my story. If you aren't one of those, don't worry about reading it, as it is directed solely at those people. When I say 'you' here, it's for them, not all my lovely readers. It's a tale to tell you why nothing you can say, or do, will ever bother me or affect me. And, a tale to tell you all that you are never too far gone to come back to love and acceptance.
> 
> I was you, once. Almost. My father was conservative, and I learned from the 'best'. No gun control, immigration is concerning, that kinda crap. But thanks to my mother (the definition of a Vancouver Hippy), I learned the basic principles that all people are equal, no matter their race, ethnicity, or sexual orientation. I held those ideals dear and close to my heart.
> 
> But, I was a die-hard far right-wing douchbag. Not alt-right, but not far. I was a terror on the internet, picking fights with liberals and socialists. I've used every single tactic that you have tried to use on me and others, and I was _good_ at it. I was 17. And, a very vulnerable man. I wouldn't want to know the guy I was. That guy was standing at the foot of the alt-right, holding his mother's ideals like they were a comfort pillow. Then it happened. I lost an election in my country. I was mad. Then, the new leader did something I approved of. An ideal my mother believed in. And, I felt that pull. Slowly, one step at a time, I made my way back, learned that there was a whole lot of love in my heart that I wasn't letting emerge. That was 5 years ago. And now, I fight for what I believe in.
> 
> That's why you cannot affect me, you angry people. I've used your arguments. I've fought for your points. I have used the same fallacies you have used. And I know now how wrong they are. I have stared directly in the face of the Alt-right darkness, spit in it, and turned away. You can too. There is nothing but hate down that corridor, and it will not bring you any happiness. I know I won't be the one to make you see it, I know I have no connections to you that would make my opinion matter. But, I wanted to let you know that there is still hope for you.


	9. A small, soft shake of a Fox's tail.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>   
> I FORGOT TO NAME THE CHAPTER AT POSTING. FECK ME.
> 
> _"Right. Now, you might be asking yourself, 'Furry, just how Antifa (A term for people who are Anti Fascist. You know fascists, the bad guys in every WW2 game) are these chapters? What was in that phone book of fore and after notes I read? Am I in danger?' Let me answer those questions, with a question: Who wants to join me in supporting the downfall of the Alt-Right? I have cookies and WildeHopps fanfic."_  
>  -Furry Johnson
> 
> Black Lives Matter every day, BIPOC Lives Matter every day, LGBTQIA2+ Rights & Lives Matter every day. Statues don't matter. History is not destroyed by removing a statue of a slave trader, a slave owner, or a horrible man. I cheered the day they removed Sir John A MacDonald's statue from the University of Victoria. There are no statutes of Hitler in Germany, yet everyone still knows his name and knows he is a monster. So don't try and tell me that history is being 'erased'. History is being acknowledged for what it truly was, rather than the whitewashed spin of 'positivity' people hold towards those statues.
> 
> 8th Peelian Principle: To recognize always the need for strict adherence to police-executive functions, and to refrain from even seeming to usurp the powers of the judiciary of avenging individuals or the State, and of authoritatively judging guilt and punishing the guilty.
> 
> The police are not to be judge, jury, and executioner. A simple and timeless adage and this principle basically cries out 'Stay in your lane'. Adhere to police functions, not anything else. My teachers once explained to me that the purpose of the police was not to 'fight crime' like the television shows love to put it. It was the search for the truth. To compile the evidence, and to provide that evidence to the justice system to determine guilt and innocence. Police don't 'determine' someone's guilt, evidence does in a court of law. Unfortunately, sometimes police get too focused on who they 'think' committed a crime, that they fail to notice all of the evidence that would prove their innocence. And that's one way that you get innocent people, sitting in jail cells because a police officer did not do their job.
> 
> This chapter is going to have a mild crossover/cameo in it, with two furry individuals who are dear and near to my heart. However, they speak another language in this world, and it is shown here. The 'loose' translations follow the lines, though, and I hope everyone enjoys this little interaction as much as I loved the imagery. And to be clear, I won't change it to say it's a 'Crossover' fic now. This was just a bit of fun, and does not nor will have hard story relevance past this chapter. It's barely a cameo, but a fun one.
> 
> Disney owns most of the world in this chapter. A small little bit in this chapter is owned by Paru Itagaki. . . And some gruff characters are all mine.  
> 

“I love this park. . . . The trees and the grass always remind me of home.” Judy spoke happily, as the two officers walked on the sidewalk beside the park. Again, they were on patrol downtown, starting at the park as usual.

Sure, there were a few trees here and there, and patches of grass all over the city. But, this was the most ‘concentrated’ spot, so to speak. And, after growing up in Bunnyburrow, she enjoyed the feel of the grass under her paws every now and then. She’d enjoyed it this morning too, but now they needed to actually ‘hit the pavement’, as it were.

Of course, right now they needed to stay on the sidewalk, and cross to the next block. . . but, just seeing the grass was nice, too. “Your country bunny is showing again, Fluff.” Nick teased, as he dutifully followed along at her side. 

She scoffed, shaking her head as they stopped at the crosswalk. Nick reached over, and hit the crossing signal, as he happily licked his pawpsicle.

Finnick, ever since going straight, almost always had his stand set up in the park during the hottest days. The pair usually stopped in to chat with him, see how he was doing. Or at least, Judy did. Nick and Finnick’s relationship was, as always, less than the friendliest.

Which still surprised her. How could two people work together and not be friends like that? She knew Nick was capable of being a good friend, she and Nick were really close. But, at least Finnick was doing well. Being further on the more ‘legal’ side of things, he could actually run his operation in the park. He branched out into different flavours and was starting to really enjoy being a small businessman.

Judy was surprised to learn that he still lived in his van. . . But hey, that seemed to be the fox’s personal choice, and she respected it. Just like Nick’s personal choice to rib her. . . That, she didn’t respect as much. “You know I can’t help it, Nick. I didn’t grow up in the concrete jungle like you, I grew up with grass under my paws. And as much as I love Zootopia, I have a lot of fond memories of my hometown.”

Sure, the town was pretty speciesist. And, there wasn’t much to do there. But, it still was home. And she always loved the smell of freshly tilled dirt. Or, even better, the smell of the earth after a nice long rain.

Still, as much as she missed home, she was really glad the moment she got the text that her parents had boarded the train that morning. It’d been about a month since her parents had come by, and met Nick, for lack of a better way to describe their behaviour. Which meant that they’d been partners, hitting the street together, for at least an entire month.

A month of adventures with the sly fox. She smiled, as she thought about how much fun they’d had so far. They even did some preliminary investigation at a break-in a week ago, that was really fun. Of course, it was taken by property crimes when they arrived. . . But hey, she was proud of the evidence they’d collected together, and the witness statements they took.

And yet, after all that time the fox still had to tease her. “Oh, I’m not complaining, Carrots. Your country bunny side is. . . Adorable.” He responded, as the light finally turned and the two entered the intersection. She looked back at the fox with a scowl.

“You were going to say something else, weren’t you, Officer Wilde?” She mumbled, slightly exaggerating her displeasure. The fact that Nick avoided the word like the plague, really made her feel like he was trying his best.

Nick snorted, as he grinned at the rabbit. “I was trying to think of the best option. Would you prefer another adjective, hmm? Delightful? Loveable? Endearing, or charming? . . . Attractive, maybe?” He murmured, his brows wiggling comically as the list went on. All the while, he comically licked his pawpsicle, like some kind of overgrown kit.

Judy rolled her eyes, chuckling. “Did you swallow a dictionary or something, Nick?”

He raised a paw, in mocking defiance as he shook a single digit at her. “How dare you? . . . It was a thesaurus, I’ll have you know. Overall, it was pretty tasty. But it could have used just a bit more spice.” The damned furball continued the joke, as he did a silly shrug.

This fox was in his thirties. And he was still an absolute dork, as Judy laughed at him. “Am I going to have to hide my books from you? Like a teething kit, or something?” She fired back, as the pair nodded and smiled at the citizens they passed on the street. 

Nick scoffed and shook his head. “Ha. Be careful with the jokes Carrots, or I might start nibbling on you.” Judy rolled her eyes, unsurprised by the teasing fox’s antics anymore.  
There were always mammals out and about in Zootopia, especially downtown during the day. The two partners flowed through the mammal traffic, occasionally saying hello, and wishing them a good day. But, no matter what, they always smiled at everyone.

For the most part, the pair chatted together about random things as they walked along, keeping an eye out for a place to stop for their break.

They loved eating at new places every shift if they could. It gave them a chance to connect with the employees and the patrons, as well as an opportunity to try out new foods. Even if Nick was always so stingy about that. . . If he saw something familiar on the menu, he’d order that in a second before considering trying something new.

He’d always excuse himself by claiming that he was ‘comparing’ each cricket burger, to find out which place had the best one. While likely partly true, she also knew that the fox was defiantly dedicated to certain foods.

Charming. But, Judy was a ‘Try Everything’ kind of rabbit, and always jumped on new opportunities.

It was while they were walking along the street when they first saw the two mammals standing by the crosswalk in front of them. Out of the crowd of Zootopians flowing through the city, it was clear that these two stuck out like a sore paw.

One male grey wolf, and one female white rabbit, ambling by the crosswalk together. They looked pretty funny, the huge wolf standing next to the small rabbit. The large wolf was looking at his phone, as he gestured, clearly confused, in different directions every few moments. They were conversing with one another as the rabbit pointed to the street signs on the traffic light poles, but Judy couldn’t make it out over the din of regular traffic around them.

If Judy had to guess, by the evidence. . . They were probably lost. And judging by their backpacks and the camera around the wolf’s neck, they were likely tourists.

Also, Judy admitted, the fact that they were speaking in a different language was also probably a sign. “Do you think they need help?” Nick interrupted her line of thinking, as he nodded towards the two ‘likely’ tourists by the intersection.

“Yeah. . . Let’s go do our civic duty.” Judy happily responded as the two began to walk toward the confused pair. Nick crunched down hard on the remainder of his pawpsicle, breaking and chewing up the remainder in mere seconds. He deftly tossed the stick into a waste bin on their way by, heading towards the confused pair of mammals. Judy always loved giving directions and helping members of the community.

However, before they came close, the white rabbit spotted the two officers and pointed towards them. She said something unclear to the wolf beside them and started to walk in their direction as well. Yep, they needed help alright.

The large wolf lumbered behind the rabbit with a nod, as the two groups walked towards one another. Judy and Nick smiled at them, doing their best to seem as friendly as possible.

“Su-, Pardon me, officers. . . We need directions, please.” The white rabbit spoke as they approached, with a very distinct accent. Judy wasn’t sure where it was from. . . But, that wasn’t important. Judy smiled back at the pair, as the wolf smiled and slowly nodded as they came to a stop.

“No problem, Ma’am, we can help. Where are you trying to go?” Judy inquired cheerfully, as the two rabbits smiled at one another. The wolf waved at them, smiling. She glanced over at Nick, who was busy grinning and looking between the two tourists.

“We are trying to find, ‘Natural History Museum’. Which direction is?” The white rabbit asked as she looked around with slight concern. It was clear that they’d been trying to find it for a bit, and hadn’t had a lot of luck. Judy nodded knowingly, as she took a look around just to make sure she was where she figured she way.

“Ah, you’re not far off, ma’am. If you go down this street for 3 blocks, you’ll see it on your left. It’s got big glass front windows on it.” Nick spoke up, the born-and-raised Zootopian sense of direction no doubt kicking in. he gestured with his paws in the direction the nearby crosswalk and held three digits up when he referred to the blocks. If there was one good thing about Nick’s tendency to talk with his paws, it was that it really helped communication across language barriers. 

Judy had debated on taking a foreign language in college, but she never had the time with all of her homework. There was always too much to do in school, and not enough time.

“Ah, hai, arigatou- Er, thank you very much.” She responded, nodding happily. The white rabbit turned and looked up at the big wolf beside her, and spoke to her wolf counterpart. “Sonoyouni three burokku susumimasu.” _(Follow that way for three blocks)_

The wolf nodded and smiled at the rabbit. “Hai, Haru-chan.” He spoke softly, his voice very deep but full of. . . Love? Wait a minute. Judy’s brows narrowed slightly, as she looked between the two mammals in front of them.

Were they. . . “So, are you two on holiday?” Nick asked as Judy looked between the two curiously. She’d never seen. . . Such a different interspecies couple before. If they were a couple, she could be jumping to conclusions.

The female rabbit nodded. “Yes. We on vacation together. First time in Zootopia.” She replied, as she looked up at the wolf and softly patted his knee. The wolf’s tail wagged slowly behind him. That touch. . . Before Judy could think twice about it and stop herself, she felt the question slip out of her mouth.

“Are you two married?”

* * *

She sighed, as she looked at the grey rabbit before her with a now disheartened smile. 

Haru had hoped not to hear that kind of question today. The white rabbit had heard it enough at home, she just wanted to enjoy her vacation with Legoshi, away from it all. “Yes. We are together. And we are very happy.” She responded as kindly but cautiously as she could manage, hoping that it wasn’t coming off wrong in their language.

Haru had taken a few courses in Zootopian when she was in University, and she was glad that she now had the opportunity to use it. Legoshi never got the opportunity to learn, despite her many attempts to help him learn some words. He knew a little bit, but not enough to hold a real conversation with confidence.

But, that didn’t matter. As long as one of them could translate, they were fine. And maybe Legoshi would learn by immersion, in the few days that they were here.

The rabbit officer’s face turned to concern, as she raised her paws. “I’m sorry ma’am, I didn’t mean to sound like I did not approve! I definitely do not have a problem with it, I just wanted to know if this was a honeymoon or a date. . . I’m sorry for any offence.” The grey rabbit corrected herself quickly.

Oh. . . Well, now Haru felt a little bad, assuming that quickly. She waved the officer off with a smile. “I am sorry. Back home, we are questioned a lot. . . Not a honeymoon. But, it is kind of a date.” Haru replied with a nod, as she looked up at Legoshi.

Legoshi had been mostly quiet for the entire time, typical of the wolf. But, as she looked up at him, she saw that he was staring intently at the other officer. . . The fox, who had so far not said anything to either of them. The officer did wave when they met and was smiling. . . But, why was Legoshi staring at him?

The fox, on the other paw, was busy looking between everyone in the group, with a small grin on his face. It was clear that the fox might be unaware by the wolf’s stare. . . What was Legoshi doing?

Haru’s brow furrowed. “Legoshi-kun?” She murmured, as she tapped his knee again. That seemed to distract the wolf, as he finally looked away from the fox, and down at his wife. 

He’d gotten very focused on that fox. . . Haru would probably want to know why. The wolf leaned his head down towards her and whispered carefully in her ear.

“Kitsune wa usagi to no kankei o nozonde iru.” _(The fox wants a relationship with rabbit)_ The wolf murmured quietly, as he glanced between the pair of officers standing before them.

Ever since the two groups had engaged in conversation, Legoshi had been out of the conversation for the most part. He didn’t understand the language, so he let his wife handle everything. However, that left him with just watching the body language of the fox and the grey rabbit while his wife chatted and asked for directions.

He didn’t know why his phone’s map app wasn’t working anymore. . . But, he found something more interesting than wondering about that, as he focused his attention on the vulpine.

The fox’s body language was both very irregular, and very familiar to Legoshi. In fact, he knew it very well from a personal perspective. But, Haru was still very confused. “Douiu imidesu ka?” _(What do you mean?)_ She asked as she cocked her head to the side. While they talked to the side, the two officers looked at one another and shrugged at one another.

“Kare o mite kudasai. Kare ga kanogo o mita toki, kare no shippo ga furu.” _(Look at him. When he sees her, his tail shakes)_ Legoshi spoke softly, as he barely gestured a digit towards the fox who was busy looking at the other officer.

Haru looked at the fox for a moment. While she was not nearly as familiar with canines as Legoshi was. . . She could see what he meant.. As the fox stared at the grey rabbit, his tail began a very slow, telling wag. Legoshi was more than familiar with the meaning of that wag, and Haru herself had seen it many times before with her husband. 

Fox or not, Canidae rules still applied when it came to their tail movements. “Hontouni?” _(Really?)_ Haru murmured, surprised. . . Maybe the two truly weren’t against interspecies relationships. . . Maybe they were in one? Legoshi nodded with a grunt, more than positive of it’s meaning. He had a lot of experience with that wag.

“Kare wa mada kanojo ni itte inai youdesu.” _(It seems he hasn’t told her yet.)_ Legoshi murmured, as he watched the look in the fox’s eyes. It was an assumption, maybe. . . But, the rabbit officer certainly seemed oblivious to the fox’s body language. Maybe even the fox was unaware, himself. . . He remembered being like that when he first felt those feelings for his wife. Haru nodded, as her gaze drifted from the fox to the officer rabbit.

The other rabbit smiled at Haru, clearly confused but not wanting to bother the couple as they talked to one another. Oh, wait. . . “Sorry, officer. My husband was curious about the directions. Thank you so much for your help. . . We think you two make good partners.” She responded cheerfully, as Judy nodded happily. 

They did seem like they’d make a cute couple if they weren’t already. . . They had to be, right? if not, was that why the female rabbit had asked Haru? Out of her own desires, and curiosity? A wolf was mostly just a much larger fox, she imagined. . . That made sense, as Haru nodded to the other rabbit.

“Thanks. We do work well together. . . Did you need anything else? Any other directions you might need?” The rabbit officer asked as she returned to her more cheerful pose. The fox continued to smile happily, as he glanced back and forth between the wolf and his rabbit. Legoshi did his best not to stare directly at the fox anymore. . . He’d learned enough.

Haru shook her head. “No, thank you again for your help. I hope you two have a good day, together. Good-bye.” Haru replied as she waved, and started walking off in the direction the fox had indicated. It was three blocks, and then on the left, right? Big windows.

Legoshi, however, stood there for a second, as he regarded the pair. Then, he waved to the two of them with a big smile. He looked into the fox’s eyes and spoke a cheerful encouragement. If he didn’t tell her yet. . . Then he could probably use it. “Ganbatte!” _(Good luck!)_ Haru reached back and grabbed his elbow.

“Yukou, baka” _(Let’s go, fool)_ She hummed, as she pulled the wolf along and waved to the officers again. “Have a good day!” He was such an awkward wolf.

* * *

Judy looked up at Nick, who smiled down at her. “Well, they were a nice couple, weren’t they?” The fox murmured, as they began to meander down the street again, as they turned in the opposite direction and began to walk down the other side of the block.

She chuckled and nodded. “They seemed really nice. . . I really didn’t mean any offence by asking, you know that right?” Judy asked, a little worried that she might have offended the two nice mammals. Judy truly didn’t mean anything by it, she was just too curious about it.

Since working in Zootopia, she’d met many interspecies couples, and they were all wonderful. Coming from Bunnyburrow, it was a lot more common here, and she always thought it was cool when she saw the couples walking down the street. She didn’t mean to put a spotlight on them, or make them seem out of place. . .

And. . . It was a little extra interesting to her, as a fellow rabbit. The wolf was. . . Well, huge, in comparison to the bunnies. And yet, the two were married. . . How did that work?

“It’s all right, Carrots, you didn’t mean any harm. I’m sure they’re used to people questioning their relationship like it’s something wrong. You just wanted to know if they were a couple or not, there isn’t much harm in that. . . As nice as it is here in Zootopia, there are places out there that aren’t as approving of interspecies relationships.” Nick spoke softly, shrugging as he looked down at the rabbit.

She nodded and sighed. It was quite true that not all places were as accepting. Including Bunnyburrow, at times. But, she guessed it was a lot different when it was just ‘public opinion’ like in Bunnyburrow. She remembered learning about places that had governments that actively discriminated against it. . .

Both kinds of discrimination were horrible and needed to be stopped. But she couldn’t imagine the nightmare that couples had to live through in those countries. “Yeah. . . Well, I approve of it. If it’s two consenting adults, it’s no one’s business but theirs, and people should just butt out.”

Nick laughed, as he looked down at her with a sly grin. “Oh? Does that mean _you’re_ open to it, fluff? A little kinky, aren’t you?” He teased, as Judy scoffed loudly.

“Oh, shut up Nick.”

“Yeah, that was way too much, I apologize. Sincerely.”

“It’s fine. . . Dumb fox.”

* * *

The pair entered the cavernous lobby of the ZPD, as their shift slowly began to wind down to a close. They still had reports to write and file, but they had more than enough time for that. Especially since it was a fairly boring day for the pair.

They took a few witnesses' statements from a purse snatching incident, gave directions to several people, and helped resolve a few arguments between some mammals.

Oh, and they helped an antelope get their son out of a tree (how he got up there, was anyone’s guess). Judy constantly radioed in to ask if they had any outstanding calls that the pair could go to, but apparently, it had been a pretty dry day for every cop in Zootopia. A good thing, honestly.

They made a quick walk through Rodentia, carefully interacting with the wonderful community. They didn’t stay too long, lest they disturb the community too much. But, it was nice to visit, and they seemed to appreciate their visit, at least. It was pretty fun to chat with everyone, Nick had to agree.

He wondered how often a lot of them left the community. He understood the purpose of the fencing around the little area. It was for safety’s sake. But still. . . It sometimes felt like it was sending the wrong message, with the way it looked like a prison from the outside.

But, he didn’t want to think about that kind of thing right now. Right now he wanted to bathe in the glory of a good day out with the rabbit. “I think we did well out there today, Carrots. You did some good things, at least.” The fox mused as they began to slowly meander their way through the lobby.

Judy looked up at him and smiled. “Thanks, Nick. I’m glad you think so. Although, that compliment would matter a little more if you were the one training me. Not the other way around.” She joked, comically raising a brow at him.

“What? Am I not allowed to give my field training officer compliments on their policing?” He responded, as his ears flicked back in mocked distress.

Judy rolled her eyes and shook her head. “No, there aren’t any rules against it. You’re just being a dork.” She fired back, as her eyes suddenly started tracking something ahead of them. That was usually a sign that Judy had suddenly locked onto something interesting. . . Strange that it’d happen in the lobby of the place. Nick lifted his head and turned to look at whatever distracted the rabbit. “So. . . What do you think? Do you think Clawhauser wants to talk to us?” Judy murmured humorously, as they both looked towards the cheetah at the front desk.

The cheetah was waving at them, pretty exaggeratingly, with a huge grin on his pudgy face. He was leaning far over his desk, and when he saw they were looking at him he began to gesture for them to come closer. “Mmmm, yeah, I’d say that’s quite likely. Based wholly on the evidence provided, of course.” Nick responded haughtily, as he smirked at Judy.

She sighed and started towards the cheetah. He followed beside her, as they approached the front desk. 

Nick honestly wondered how much he’d made her sigh, over the time they’d known each other. . . They’d known each other for quite a while now that he thought about it. . . . It’d been. . . Nine? Ten months? Something like that.

Nick grinned, as he leaned down towards her. “You’re a really good cop, Judy. . . Maybe even the best.” He murmured, as the rabbit looked up at him with a furrowed brow. After what he said to her when they first met. . . Well, she deserved to hear his new opinion, at least.

She snorted and shook her head. “Suck-up.” Judy chastised him as they both arrived at the front counter. He wasn’t trying to suck up. . . But, he just chuckled to himself as the cheerful cat immediately began to speak as they approached.

“Hey, you guys! How was your shift?” He asked boisterously, as he looked between the two as he picked up a donut from the container by his desk. Nick had barely enough time to see what kind it was before it was immediately consumed.

Judy shrugged. “It was a fun shift, if slow.” She asked, looking at the fox with a nod for confirmation as he leaned on the counter. As if she ever needed to ask if the fox had fun.

“It’s always a fun shift with you, fluff. . . How’s your day, Ben?” He asked the cheetah, as Judy sneer at him, before shaking her head. She never seemed to want to hear his compliments. . .

The cheetah jumped on the opportunity to talk, though. “Oh, my day was great! It wasn’t very busy up here, so I spend most of the day watching some music videos. There were a few people who needed to talk to the collision centre, but other than that there was nothing to do. . . . Oh, hey that reminds me, Judy. Bogo wanted to talk to you as soon as you got in.” The cheetah interjected suddenly, as he pointed at Judy. He looked away, brows falling. “Wait. . . He’s in a meeting at his office now. . . But he should be done soon if you wanted to wait for him.”

Judy’s head rocked back, as she looked at the cheetah curiously. “Oh? What did he want to talk to me about?” She asked, tilting her head to the side. Even Nick was surprised. Judy was rarely summoned to his office like that. Usually, he just called, or emailed if he had something he needed to discuss. . .

“Oh, probably to check in on how you’re doing as an FTO, it’s normal. At least, I think. I didn’t really have a lot of time to ask him questions when he stormed by. . .” The big cat responded. That didn’t surprise Nick, the buffalo was always tromping off to one important thing or another. “But, I’m sure it’s nothing you need to worry about.”

Nick nodded, as he looked at his partner. Yeah. . . that rabbit could never get in trouble, could she? “Well, if you want to go deal with buffalo butt, I can start on some of the paperwork. See if I can handle writing most of mine on my own?” He suggested with a light shrug. He’d been doing well for the past month (he figured), he was certain he could do most of it without any help. That, and, he wanted to talk to the cheetah alone. . .

Judy huffed, shaking her head. “I’m sure you’ll do fine, Nick. . . I guess I’ll see you back at the office, hmm?” She murmured, grinning up at him. Their little cubicle, with two desks, could hardly be called an office in a room filled with other ‘offices’. But, it was cozy, and it was theirs. He nodded, and she turned to the cheetah with a big smile. “Thanks for letting me know Ben. We’ll talk later, okay?” She spoke, as she began to slowly walk backward away from the two predators.

“No problem! Talk to you later, Judy!” Clawhauser called, as Nick gently waved while the rabbit turned around and began to bound away from them.

And Nick just sat there, watching her go with a sly smirk. He always liked watching her walk away from him. . . The adorable tail, the amazing energy as she bounded away. The way her ears moved with the wind. He could barely tear his eyes away from her, as she started to climb the stairs up to the second level, where Bogo’s office was located.

He sighed, as he shook his head. He needed to get those thoughts out of his head. It was time to get back down to the important business of the evening. And he didn’t mean the paperwork. “Did you get them?” He mumbled to the cheetah beside him, who immediately recoiled in disbelief and horror.

“How. Dare. You.” He responded in mock anger. “I am the _president_ of the Gazelle fan-club, -Downtown district-. I am an active member of _five_ different social media groups dedicated to the Angel with Horns, and I follow all accounts associated with her across several social media platforms. And you _dare_ ask me if I managed to get them? . . . Of course.”

The big cat finished with a smile, as he produced two small slips of paper from under the desk. Nick smiled and took them eagerly. “Thank you, Ben. I owe you one.” He looked down at the two tickets, and couldn’t help but grin.

Nick was certain that there was no one better to ask about trying to get VIP front row tickets to a Gazelle Concert. Ben was on so many forums, following so many accounts, that he’d always be the first to know when the ticket sales were dropped. 

And, given how his entire job was staying at the desk, Ben was also in a unique position to be able to buy those tickets, no matter when they opened them up for purchase. Nick was proven right with that assumption, now that he had these beautiful tickets in his paws. Yes, Ben was a great service for Gazelle tickets. . . He knew he’d paid the right cat.

“So. . . Have you asked Judy on the date yet, or, is that going to be the surprise?” Ben chimed in, as Nick’s head swivelled to look at the cheetah with surprise.

“What? No. What are you talking about? They’re just a gift.” He recoiled at the thought, as the leopard, shook his head. A date? Really?

Ben rolled his eyes. “Oh, come _on_ , Nicky. You cannot tell me that you didn’t _just_ check her out not a minute ago. And, all the little flirting, stop kidding yourself. I’ve seen the way you look at her.”

Nick scoffed, rolling his eyes. “Keep dreaming, Ben. . . If you locked up everyone who thought Judy was attractive, you’d have to arrest most of Zootopia. And I’m not going to pretend she isn’t attractive, but, you’ve got the wrong idea.” She was an attractive person, Nick could admit that easily now. But, that didn’t mean he was asking her out.

“Oh really? Why’re you getting a _pair_ of tickets then, hmm? As far as I remember, you’re not that much of a Gazelle fan.” Ben retorted, raising a sprinkle covered digit in defiance of Nick. And then the big cat saw the sprinkles, and immediately licked it clean.

Nick shook his head, defiantly. Typical Ben, always jumping to conclusions. “Yeah, the ticket’s are _for_ Judy. But it’s not what you think. . . Her birthday’s this weekend, and I owe her a good gift.”  
Nick defended himself, telling the honest truth of his ticketing intentions. Out of all the things to come out of meeting Judy’s parents, the date of her birthday was by far the most useful one. . . The concert was for the week after her birthday, so even the timing worked out in Nick’s favour.

Ben leaned over the desk towards the fox, with a big, suggestive grin. “Are you giving both of the tickets to her then, Nick? Gonna let her choose a dating partner then?”

As if. “No. I get one and she gets one. I’m paying for the tickets, I’d at least like to _see_ the concert.” He replied, shrugging as if it was the most obvious answer to why he’d buy two tickets.

“That still makes it a date, Nick. A ‘forced’ date, technically. . . Wouldn’t it be easier just to ask her?” The cheetah pressed further, as Nick’s eyes narrowed at him. Now the cat was just trying to twist reality to fit his fiction. His stupid, childish fiction.

“We’ll be going as friends. Work partners. People can do that nowadays. We don’t need to be _dating_ to enjoy a concert together, you know?” He muttered as he slipped the two tickets into his pocket.

“You’re right. . . . But, it _does_ help make it fun? C’mon, just ask her out already. I _know_ you like her.”

Nick groaned, as he turned around and started trudging his way away from the annoying cat, and towards the work he had to do. “No. Bye, Ben.” He replied crassly, waving dismissively back at the cheetah. Judy deserved these tickets for a lot of reasons, beyond it being just a good birthday gift.

She was a kind person. She was a good cop. She was willing to take a chance on him, even the first time that she met him. She was willing to admit when she made a mistake, and apologize for it. And, after all of that, she remained a good friend to him, encouraging him to become a better fox. Those were the reasons he wanted to give her these tickets and enjoy the concert with her.

His brow furrowed, as he shook his head. He bought her the tickets because he knew it would make her happy.

The fact that he did have feelings for her had _nothing_ to do with it.

* * *

Judy walked with her typical peppy step, as she approached Chief Bogo’s office. It had been another good day on the street with Nick, and another great day of making Zootopia a better place. No matter what lied beyond Chief Bogo’s door, it wouldn’t be able to ruin her day.

At least hopefully. There were a few things that could possibly ruin it. . . But, she didn’t want to think about those options, as she walked up to the door and raised her fist to knock.

 _”In light of the evidence he’ll be demoted and removed from his post in recruiting, as you requested, Inspector.”_ She heard Bogo’s stern voice on the other side of the door. She froze her fist, as her ears flicked forwards to the noise. He must’ve still been in the meeting then. . . She’d better not disturb him. She retracted her fist and started to walk over to a nearby chair.

 _”You misunderstand me, Chief Bogo.”_ Another formidable, but calm voice called through the door, her ears turning back instinctively to the authoritative tone. She didn’t want to eavesdrop, but with her ears, it was pretty hard not to. . . For some reason, she recognized that voice, as she slowed to a stop and turned her head back to the door.

 _”I don’t want him removed from recruiting. . . I want him removed from the **Force** , entirely.”_ The eerily familiar voice continued, as she took one of the seats nearest the door. What was going on in there. . . Was that. . . Inspector Zredyote?”

 _”You know I cannot do that, Inspector.”_ Bogo responded with a sigh-filled voice. _”The Union would demand an explanation for my actions, and would hang me out to dry.”_

 _”Speciesism isn’t enough, hmm? You’ve seen his file, Chief. He was pulled from the street after his last complaint and shoved into recruiting, and now you’re going to shuffle him around again? He is a **problem** , Bogo. Your fear of the Union is clouding your moral judgement.”_ Holy shit, what was happening in there? Instantly, Judy’s foot began to vibrate, tapping the floor softly as she fought with herself. She shouldn’t be listening in, but, they were talking so loud. . . She couldn’t stop.

 _”Hold your tongue, Inspector. . . I’m still the Chief here, and you’d be wise not to forget th-.”_ Bogo started, before the Inspector laughed. That had to be Zredyote. . .

 _”Oh? Speaking up against another officer’s crimes earns more ire than the crimes themselves? What an example that would make for the media, firing me. . . I don’t fear you. Or the Union. I’ve been an officer for a long time, Bogo. Way longer than you. When they gave you your first pair of pawcuffs, I was the Chief of Podunk. What are you Chief of if all you can do is kiss the Union’s ass?”_ The Inspector belted out calmly, yet somehow so intense that even Judy shivered. Only Zredyote could speak that deadpan and still ream you out.

For a moment, there was just quiet breathing coming from the room, and Judy wished she could see what was going on. But, finally, Bogo began to speak. _“You know as well as I do that the Union would overturn my decision to fire him, without any evidence or a trial. If I had more evidence, I’d push for it, same as you. . . My hooves are tied, Zredyote. I wish it was as easy as you seem to believe, but the ZPD isn’t like Podunk. The best I can do is demote him and move him out of recruiting, out of harm's way, and even then they will flame me for it.”_ The chief responded, fairly dejected considering he’d just been verbally whipped by a lesser.

 _“The Union hasn’t tied your hooves, Bogo. . .”_ The coyote responded, in that deadpan voice. Judy swore, she wanted to talk to him again someday, hear more about his past. . . How’d he become the mammal he was? _”They’ve put a noose ‘round your neck. . . But, it’s your choice to leave it there, and accept that fate. Mark my words, Bogo. If you cannot get rid of Wolfsei, and those like him. . . they will continue to burn what’s left of this entire Department’s integrity down to the ground, and piss on the ashes.”_

She heard thumping, right before she heard the doorknob twist. She stood up straight and tried to turn her ears away as she expected the door to fly open. But, Bogo’s voice inside called out, apparently halting the Inspector. _“If it’s a noose, as you say. . . If I can’t get it off, one wrong step and I’ll be gone and no good to anyone. The Union will have me removed. . . What would you do in my situation, Inspector Zredyote? What’s your ‘easy’ way out?”_ The buffalo questioned, as she watched the door for any movement.

There was silence for a moment. _”I’d hope they picked a tall, tall tree. I’ll loudly, proudly, and happily sway in the wind for my beliefs, for everyone to see.”_ He responded matter-of-factly, as the door opened, and the Coyote stepped through.

Judy trained her head forward and pretended that she hadn’t heard the door open, or anything else as the coyote turned and saw her seated nearby. Which was probably more suspicious than if she’d just looked at the canine. . . “Hello, Judy.” The inspector spoke calmly, as he turned to look back into Bogo’s office. “Sergeant Hopps is here to see you, Chief.”

“Send her in.” The voice of the buffalo called through the open door, clearly exhausted. Judy stood, watching the coyote with wide eyes as he smiled at her.

“Nice to see you again, Hopps. . . You’re doing a good job out there. Keep it up.” He muttered, as he turned and began to walk away.

“Thank you, sir. It was nice seeing you, too.” She replied, nodding to him as he continued trudging away. She walked over to the open doorway and looked into the huge office (to her).

The buffalo was seated at his desk, as usual, rubbing his head with a very pained expression on his face. “Take a seat, Hopps.” Bogo murmured, with a deflating sigh. Judy had no idea how long that. . . Conversation had gone on before she arrived. But it clearly took a lot out of the buffalo. She padded her way into the office cautiously, as she climbed up into the chair and sat down with a soft plop.

The buffalo rubbed the side of his head for another minute, before he grabbed a piece of paper, and stared at the rabbit with tired eyes. “How is Wilde’s training going?” He muttered as he frowned at the rabbit. Judy had a feeling that she didn’t want to bring up what she just heard. . . Or, tell anyone, for that matter. . . She wasn’t in management, and she would prefer never to be in that kind of position.

“Good. He’s learning quickly, and he seems to be retaining a lot of the information. All of his mistakes have been fairly minor, and he does a lot of double-checking before he does anything really new.” She spoke, as she felt somewhat relieved that this was what the meeting was about. Judy was proud of how well Nick was learning.

“Let’s just cut to the chase, and get to the point of this. . . stupid sheet. How do you think you are as a teacher?” The buffalo droned out another question, clearly off of some list that he was glancing down on the table. . . But, he didn’t write down her previous answers yet. That sheet was some kind of performance evaluation, wasn’t it?

Judy nodded. “I think I’m. . . Okay? He hasn’t complained about me, I think. . . . I hope I’m a good teacher.” She murmured, as she thought about that question. She was always a good tutor in College, and it seemed to be paying off now.

“Good. That’s enough, I’ll fill out the rest of these questions on my own.” He responded as he shoved the piece of paper off to the side. “Since he’s your first trainee, I am required to do an ‘assessment’ of your skills after one month. He’ll be getting a form to fill out, too, reviewing your performance. But, I have a feeling you’ve done just fine. . . I don’t want to ask two questions in fifty different ways today, so I’ll cover the rest of the details.”

“Oh, it’s not a problem for me, sir. Officer Wilde is getting started on the paperwork, if you need to ask me all of the required questions, I’d be happy to.” She replied. Judy always preferred to do things the right way, by protocol. She was fairly confident in her skill as a teacher.

But, Bogo shook his head. “I don’t want to, and I don’t need to. Do not worry, Hopps, this won’t be the only time I’m going to be reviewing you during this training session. . . However, there is something of more importance we need to cover. Officer Wilde received his first complaint yesterday.”

Judy’s brow furrowed, as the Chief grabbed another piece of paper from his desk. “From a Mr. Ron Acornith. He states that ‘the fox’ was disrespectful to him, and rude. . . . This incident was from last week.” The buffalo continued, as he glanced up at the rabbit. Mr. Ron Acornith. . .

The rabbit remembered that squirrel. . . He’d been jaywalking, and nearly caused a car accident. The pair had talked to him about how he broke the law, and he was absolutely rude to them the entire time. However, Nick had been entirely professional when he talked to the squirrel about why it was illegal to Jaywalk. 

They didn’t even give him a ticket. “That complaint is unfounded, sir. Nick was a professional, and so was I. I swear he did nothing wrong, and we didn’t even give him a ticket for nearly causing an accident. He was Jaywalking, and caused a giraffe’s car to make an emergency stop in the middle of heavy traffic.”

The buffalo nodded. “I figured that. Considering that the complainant didn’t even get Officer Wilde’s name, and frequently referred to him as ‘that shifty fox’, I figured it was a bundle of crap. I checked your reports of the incident, and everything matches up with what you’ve told me. I had a feeling this was a case of a wimp, whining for the wrong reasons. I’ll consider this complaint resolved, and I will have someone call Mr. Acornith about the results. . . You might as well let Wilde know about it, as his direct superior.”

Judy shook her head. “Yeah. . . I’ll let him know. . . Is that all, sir?” She asked as she looked at the desk. He really received a complaint. . . Just because he was a fox?

“Yes Hopps, that is all.” He murmured, as he grabbed another file, and began to peruse the contents. His desk was always such a mess of folders. “Have a good day, Sergeant.”

She nodded, as she hopped down from the chair. “Have a good day, Chief,” Judy replied, as she walked out of the office, and closed the door behind her. As she slowly thumped her way in the direction of their shared office, her mind was racing.

Judy was glad that what Bogo had summoned her for had been that minor. At least objectively minor. That was all dealt with, and she was sure Nick would find the complaint more funny than hurtful. But. . . What she overheard concerned her more. . . She didn’t know anything about what they were talking about, or what officer they were discussing. As a young officer, she did her best to stay out of the ‘politics’ that occurred in the backrooms. But, if the Inspector felt that strongly about it. . . That wasn’t good.

As much as she wanted to talk to Nick about it, she felt too bad about overhearing it to repeat it. She couldn’t help her eavesdropping, but she could make the decision to not spread it around. It probably wasn’t going to be a big deal anyway, the guy was being demoted and removed from recruiting. That was at least a start, right?

She forced most of her thoughts out, as she hopped down the stairs two at a time. But, one question continued to scratch, in the back of her head. . .

Who was Officer Wolfsei?

* * *

Nick took the news of the complaint well. He always would. It wasn’t like it was the first time he’d received a complaint about ‘being’ a fox. It was just the first ‘official’ time for him.

By the time Judy’d come to their cubicle, Nick had been mostly done his reports. She gave them a brief look over, and was very impressed, as usual. The rabbit had told him about the complaint, as she worked on her own paperwork.

He remembered the squirrel fairly well, and about how he had zero regards for the safety of anyone in the vehicles when he stepped out into traffic. He claimed they could ‘stop just fine’, and that ‘Pedestrians always had the right of way’. To which Nick explained that the claim that ‘pedestrians always had the right of way’ was actually more mythological than it was factual.

If he got stuck because he stepped out in front of a car illegally, it was going to be his ass in trouble, not the driver. But, the squirrel didn’t care, and continually berated the fox for ‘bothering’ him. Nick heard him talk about complaining to his supervisor, so, he guessed he should have expected that.

Judy also told him that Bogo talked to her about how his training was going and that he would be receiving a document eventually to ‘review’ her performance. Which, naturally, he immediately teasingly asked if there were any ‘benefits’ to giving her a good review.

That was immediately shot down, of course. But, with far less energy than Nick had expected. She seemed. . . A little more distracted than usual. He asked what was wrong, and she immediately deflected it. He was smart enough to know that meant ‘don’t ask again’. But, he did his best to coax her back to normal, by the time they finished their paperwork and headed home on the train.

He didn’t need to know why she was distracted, or upset, but he could do his best to cheer her up. That was the fox’s duty.

All the while resisting the urge to give her the tickets now, as they sat on the couch watching television. He was excited, to watch her get excited. He wanted to see her eyes light up now, especially since she seemed distracted for most of the evening.

But, it was only two days until her birthday. He could wait.

And as far as Judy knew, Nick did not know her birthday. That made the surprise all that more fun. Considering it was so soon, he was somewhat surprised that she hadn’t told him yet. Maybe she didn’t like her birthday? Or maybe she was just a mammal that wasn’t that obsessed with her birthday.

. . . He hoped she didn’t actually hate birthdays. Nick wasn’t obsessed with his own, but he wanted to give her something. Either way, he knew she wouldn’t hate the gift he was giving her at least. There was no way the rabbit would be upset about the tickets.

Especially considering she was complaining about how they were all sold out before she had a chance to buy some yesterday. . . Heh. Nick knew better than to hope for the tickets to last an entire shift. That’s why he utilized Ben’s position. He knew full well that there were a few others around the station that did, too.

Maybe even Bogo. . . He suspected that buffalo was hiding his fanbulling for the singer, in that tough exterior.

As the show ended, the silent rabbit beside him sighed and shook her head. “I can’t believe he had the gall to actually make that complaint.”

Nick shrugged, as he had before. “It’s alright, Carrots. I’m sure it happens to a lot of officers, getting shitty complaints like that.”

“I know. But still, you’re my partner, and that pisses me off.” She muttered, as she grabbed the remote and turned the TV off. It was past time for them to get some sleep before work tomorrow. “You literally were the kindest you could be when you explained it to him, and all he did was cuss you out for caring about his and other’s safety.”

Nick chuckled, shaking his head. “It’s fine. I’m ready and willing to face any complaint I get, with open honesty. I’d even call him back about it if I knew that wouldn’t just inflate the problem.” 

Judy nodded, snorting. “Yeah, then you’d get another complaint about harassment, or something silly like that. . . Either way, that squirrel must have a sad life if all he can do is complain about someone caring about him.” She murmured, as she stood up and stretched.

Nick followed suit, with a yawn as he rounded the couch and thumped towards his bedroom door. “He’s got a sad life, I’ve got a good one. If it makes him feel better to rag on me, then that’s okay.”

She laughed, as she shook her head, as she walked up to her own bedroom door. “I don’t think it made him any happier by complaining, though. Probably riled him up even further. . . I envy your ability to just, you know, brush off everything. . . It makes me madder knowing you have to, though.”

Nick shrugged, as he opened the door to his bedroom. “Helps when I get to spend the day with you. Automatic plus one to good day results.” He teased, grinning at her.

She rolled her eyes, as she opened her door and walked into her room. She’d clearly had enough of his antics today. “Goodnight, Slick.”

He snorted, as he shook his head and walked into his bedroom. As soon as his door closed, he took a seat on his bed and pulled out his phone. And let out a heavy, heavy sigh.

Nick. . . Had put this off for long enough. Too long, actually. But, as soon as he started procrastinating it, the idea of calling had gotten worse and worse. It made it so he felt worse about calling this late than never calling at all. But now. . . He needed to get it over with.

He hit the call button and lifted it to his ear. As soon as the phone dialled once, he wanted to hang up. He could do it. After all, it was late, he shouldn’t call now, he-

 _Click_ “Hello?” Her voice came through the speaker, filled with the typical upbeat joy she always had. And, Nick felt his knees weaken. . . He missed hearing that voice.

“Hey, mom.” He murmured, nervously. It’d been literal months since he’d heard it. . . Too many months.

There was a brief moment of silence, and Nick feared the worse. She could be really mad, and she’d be right to be. But opposed to his thoughts, his mother continued with her sweet-filled voice. “Hey, Nicky! How are you?” . . . Of course she’d be happy to hear from her son.

“I’m doing good, mom. . . Really good, actually. . . I’m sorry we haven’t talked in a while.” He mumbled his apology, knowing it wasn’t that good.

“That’s okay, sweetie, I understand. Like father, like son. What’ve you been up to lately?” His mother continued. . . Nothing could upset her, could it? Well, he was about to test that belief.

“A lot, actually. . . I’m. . . A police officer now, mom.” He spoke, as he winced for the incoming anger. He should’ve shared that a long time ago. . .

“Oh, I know that, Nicky. I saw it in the paper awhile back! I’ve got the clipping of you receiving your badge on the fridge. You looked so dashing.” his mother replied, immediately shattering every expectation he had. Also all of his plans.

“. . . You knew?” Nick asked, surprised.

Marian Wilde laughed heartily, as the corners of his mouth twitched into a smile. “Of course I knew! I’m your mother, I always know.”

“l . . . I’m sorry I didn’t call you sooner.” He apologized, shaking his head. His mother did always know. . . . She loved reading and watching the news, and his hiring was quite a news story at the time.

“Oh, that’s okay. . . I knew you’d call me eventually, in your own time. . . I imagine it’s a lot of adjustment for you, being on the force. . . . How’s it going, hmm? Are you working with that cop that you helped, with that Nighthowler nastiness?” His mother continued to destroy his expectations, as he let out a single chuckle.

Nothing got past his mother, did it? “You know about that, too?”

“Of course I do, honey! I knew my kit had to be the ‘Courageous Fox Citizen’ the paper was talking about, I didn’t even need to see you in the corner of the picture. That one’s also on the fridge, by the way. I really want to meet the rabbit that. . .” His mother paused, taking in a short breath. Yeah. . . They never really discussed what he’d been doing for the last decade. . . “That helped you.”

Nick smiled and nodded. “Well, I can ask her, but I imagine she wouldn’t be against meeting you. . . I really am sorry I haven’t called . . . I need to start calling more, I think.”

His mother laughed into the phone. “I agree. But, I also understand. Your father was fairly reclusive, too. . . . He’d be proud of you, you know that right?”

He felt the tears well up in his eyes, as he did his best to hold them back. Nick didn’t remember a lot about his dad. . . He passed a long, long time ago. “I hope so.” Nick murmured. He wished he could tell his dad, about the fox his son turned out to be. . . Or was trying to be, at least.

“Well. . . onto other topics.” His mother started, as he instantly grimaced. He knew just where this was going. “Any movement on the grand-kits front, Nicky? You’re not getting any younger you know.”

He snorted, chuckling as he shook his head. Because reminding a 32-year old he was old was a nice thing to do. He knew that no matter how this phone call went, that question would appear. “No, nothing new to report. Still single, no children, and no ‘potentials’ in sight.” He responded, trying to beat all the questions his mother might have.

“Really? No one at all?” His mother asked curiously, and Nick shook his head.

Telling her about his feelings for Judy would be silly. It was a stupid crush, and a mythological fantasy to consider. He was an old, washed-up fox. She was a young, bright, and wonderful rabbit. She couldn’t just do better than him, she deserved better. And she’d never look at him that way, any way, so it didn’t matter. At this point, he was just happy to know she was a small part of his life.

Although, that wolf and rabbit couple looked fairly happy. . .

“Nope, no one.” He responded assuredly, as he cast that thought aside. That lie belonged in his dreams, nowhere else.

Then, his mother went silent for a moment, before she spoke in a more careful voice. “It’s not because of Veronica, is it?”

Nick snorted. At the mere mention of her name, the tears practically evaporated from his eyes. “No, it’s definitely not. . . That was a long, long time ago, and that’s where that’s going to stay.” And if he had his way, he’d never think of that vixen again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Legoshi suspects it, Ben is sure of it, but Nick already knows. And is fully aware of his problem. His silly feelings, and shaking tail. However. . . Who is this Veronica. . .
> 
> And. . . what the fuck did Judy overhear. . .
> 
> Boozy Badger, a furry lawyer on Twitter, recently brought up a good point about Zootopia. By all known laws, Judy Hopps' acquisition of Nick's tax information (in the timeframe given) was likely illegal, or she falsified the entire document. This doesn't surprise me, given that later in the film she literally baits him in order to falsely utilize case law for trespassing on a business' lot as a police officer. A weird form of entrapment, in a nutshell.
> 
> But, I have a rather simple, if inglorious explanation. I imagine, like a lot of people who want to become cops, she spent a lot of time watching cop movies and shows. One of the most common tropes in these movies is those police officers will end up doing something 'against the rules' in order to get the job done. Their boss'll say something like 'I'll take care of the fallout', but we never see that repercussion. It encourages the mentality that police breaking or bending the laws is okay, so long as what they are doing is for the 'greater good'.
> 
> I imagine that's what happened with Judy. The actions she took, she believed were justified because she was doing it for the greater good. And she was more than wrong. I'll give her a pass for it, mainly because she was never given an FTO in the movie to say 'that's fucking bad'. But, only one pass. . . However, this brings up an important question in policing. Does the ends justify the means, or does the means justify the ends?
> 
> The short answer is: Fuck no, the ends do not justify the means. The longer answer is also fuck no, the concept of Due Process exists for a reason. Due Process originated from Clause 39 of the Magna Carta of England (It's 800 fucking years old, so don't @ me about it being 'liberal'. It was written by a fucking monarch and benefitted only landowners at the time). "No free man shall be seized or imprisoned, or stripped of his rights or possessions, or outlawed or exiled, or deprived of his standing in any other way, nor will we proceed with force against him, or send others to do so, except by the lawful judgment of his equals or by the law of the land", the first mention of it in history. What it is now has been defined since then through case law. It'd be a long spiel to go over, but the short of it is that the State (federal state, including agents of the state like police officers) has to follow the rules, or their actions are unjustified.
> 
> Why is this important? If you start violating the rights of people because you believe it is 'for the greater good'. . . When does it stop? And who are you to define greater good? It might make it harder to do your job, but that just makes you a better officer. To convict a felon by following the rules is an honour, not a hindrance. And, the most obvious problem. . . If you teach your officers that it's okay if they break the rules 'a little bit'. . . They will never feel the need to follow them.


	10. One-hundred and Ten Days

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _"Congratulations! The simple fact that you're standing here reading this means you've made a glorious contribution to my moral, and this story's progression. As founder and CEO of Furry Aperture Science, I thank you for your participation and hope we can count on you for another round of chapters."_  
>  -Furry Johnson
> 
> I know I said I'd bob back and forth between my stories. But eh, the bug bit me here.
> 
> Black Lives Matter, BIPOC Lives Matter, LGBTQIA2+ Rights and Lives Matter. If you claim to stand for these beliefs but get irritated when I mention them, there is a problem you need to address. Let's talk briefly about "libertarianism". I hate hearing that word because people like to chant it as if it recuses them from any discussion. Like nihilism, and that shit. 'I support rights, but I refuse to act to support those rights' is what I hear every time, along with 'if they're both bad, I don't need to feel bad about doing nothing'. They're the same people who say 'If I can't make a difference on my own, then why should I try'. The reason you should try is because the whole concept of a society is working together to achieve common goals. 'Libertarians' needs to look at the criticisms of it, and how it encourages complacency for far more right-wing-radical ideals. Someone from the last chapter made some interesting messages before they immediately deleted them. I don't know how old the person is, so I'm not going to be harsh about it. But, to clear the air, they accused me of being less tolerant than I have claimed, which was interesting to me. Mainly because I have never claimed that I'd be tolerant of racism, sexism, homophobia, or terrible beliefs and ideas, nor will I ever claim such. Being socialist does not necessarily indicate that I should be tolerant of everything I see. I was tolerant of those bad behaviours once, and I was a fool. I will never tolerate it again. But let's move on.
> 
> 9th Peelian Principle: To recognize always that the test of police efficiency is the absence of crime and disorder, and not the visible evidence of police action in dealing with them.
> 
> I've said this before, but it bears saying again. . . The first Peelian Principle is to prevent crime and disorder. Prevent, not punish. If a police officer job becomes so boring that they sit on their ass every day, rescuing kittens and helping old people cross the street. . . Then that police agency has succeeded in its role. It's not if you solve 40 break-ins, its if your city only has two or three, or none. Reactionary policing is trash, and it always has been trash. It doesn't matter if you get there in 5 minutes after the crime, the crime has still happened. And that's why it's important to invest in more than just policing to deal with crime. You need to tackle the factors that caused the crime, such as homelessness, drug addiction, and mental health issues. If you can't stop the cause, then do you really care about truly 'stopping' crime?
> 
> Holy shit, that's the 9. All 9. . . I never thought that I would run out of principles this quickly. . . Heh, time for me to pull out my notes. But meanwhile. . . The story continues, as we get a new perspective of our two fools. After all, Nick is only one side of this strange, increasingly complicated friendship.
> 
> Disney owns this world. I have now faxed my requests to you, Disney. C'mon, respond.  
> 

Judy thumped up the stairs, carrying the bag of groceries glumly. Normally she loved to race up the stairs, with whatever she had, as it was one hell of a workout. But, today was not one of those days where she had the energy for it.

Both physically, and mentally. She sighed, shaking her head with a frown as she rounded the stairwell landing again, and continued up to her floor. All in all, she had to admit it was not the best birthday she’d ever had.

Not to say that she liked birthday parties or any of that tacky stuff. It was always too much pomp and circumstance for her, and she hated having all the attention on her for something as simple as just being born. If anything, the smaller the celebration the happier Judy was.

She guessed it was hard to be too excited by birthdays when you had over two hundred siblings. It felt like every week, someone had a birthday coming up. And in some cases, there was more than one birthday on the same day.

Judy was glad that she was older now, as birthday’s always seemed to carry less significance when you started into your twenties. Now that she was 24. . . Or 25, she supposed. . . the formula for each birthday was basically the same for every year.

She woke up to the text messages from her family, and her close friends back home, filled with good wishes. She responded to the messages with gratitude and rolled out of bed to start her day as usual. After she got dressed, Nick met her in the living room for their morning stretches and exercises, and they had some healthy cereal for breakfast.

And then, they went to work, like any other day.

Her parents promised to send her a present, and it was ‘in the mail’ (probably something like a scarf, or underwear). But other than that, she expected no presents and wanted none either. She was an adult, with a well-paying job. If she wanted something, she’d buy it for herself.

That was one of the reasons she wasn’t having the greatest day. There was only one thing that Judy had wanted to buy herself for her ‘birthday’, and that was tickets to see the upcoming Gazelle concert. All year, she’d been waiting for Gazelle to have a concert on a day she wasn’t working, and finally, she had an opportunity.

The fact that it was around her birthday was a coincidence, but one she was willing to jump on the day that the ticket sales were released. The moment they were off shift, she hopped on the ticket website and searched for the event as fast as she could. It wasn't fast enough. Her heart sank when she saw the ‘Out-of-stock’ label, only a mere 5 hours after they’d been put on sale. All she wanted was one general admission ticket. . .

For the next few days, she called into every radio station that was giving away tickets, in the vain hope of winning. But, no luck there either. She checked online for any scalped tickets, but the prices were absolutely outrageous. Judy had car payments, after all. No matter how tempting the ticket was.

Nick did his best to console her, reminding her that the concert was still going to be televised live, so they could enjoy it from home. Have any snacks they want, and get to see everything from the comfort of their couch. A decent consolation offer, but, it was still not the same as seeing the performance live. But she’d just have to settle with the couch and Nick. . . Not that settling for Nick was at all a disappointing reality.

Speaking of Nick, that brought up the other part of why this birthday sucked ass. She was fine with just text messages from her family and friends, and nothing more. But, if there was something that she did want, it was to be able to celebrate her birthday with Nick. Not even a party, she’d settle for a simple ‘happy birthday’ from the fox.

Originally, she’d planned to bring it up a few days before. That wasn't so bad of an option. But, between work and other things, she either forgot about it. . . Or didn't feel like it was a good time to bring it up. And now, it was the day of. And that was a problem.

There was something about telling someone that it was your birthday on the day in question. It seemed. . . She didn’t know, kind of weird. It was like demanding that someone pay attention to you. Which, granted, was kind of what she wanted from Nick. She just wanted to enjoy her birthday with him, she didn't need or expect him to do anything special.

Also, she didn’t want to cause him to ‘scramble’ to get a birthday present or anything like that. Especially given the fact that. . . Well, she didn't exactly have any ground to stand on for present 'reciprocity'.

She missed his birthday, during the three months that they were. . . Well, going through a ‘rough patch’ as friends. . . She didn’t get him a present then, even though she kind of wished she had the chance to. She wished all of that hadn't happened. . . Although at least it turned out okay in the end, right?

Either way, even if she didn’t tell him the fox was smart enough to pick up that there was something wrong with her, as she spent most of the day pretty glum. A lot of it was the memory of losing the chance for tickets, but she couldn’t deny that she was also somehow hoping that Nick would somehow figure it out. Maybe check Furbook, and see her birthday there or something. Wait, he didn't have a Furbook. . .

For their workday, they seemed to attract the odd calls as per usual. They were called to a ‘neighbourly disagreement’ down in the suburbs, a fairly regular occurrence for police officers. Usually, it was not that difficult to deal with, and it just required a little bit of negotiation on both sides. However, it was what the disagreement was about that made it really strange. At first, when the dispatcher gave them the description, Nick and Judy thought that dispatch must have misheard what was going on there. That couldn't be something that someone actually, legitimately called 911 about.

But no. It was indeed what dispatch had told them, right down to the letter. An older female deer had called in a complaint on her neighbour, a male zebra. What was the complaint? Well, the zebra was mowing his front lawn, and some of the grass ‘clippings’ had fallen into the deer’s garden. . .

Judy had hoped that it was all a joke. A cruel prank, that was just wasting the police's resources and time. But alas, the female deer was dead serious about it. She wanted her neighbour to come over and remove them, or she wanted them charged. For what, Judy didn’t know, grass clippings weren’t well defined ‘offence’ material. Judy did her best, being familiar with horticulture, to explain that the grass clippings would actually provide nutrients to her flowers.

But, she wouldn’t have it. It looked ‘bad’. So, she and Nick had to walk next door and talk to the neighbour and informed him of what was going on. To which he responded with reasonable confusion. It was natural to be confused at such a thing, the two officers certainly were.

Naturally, he refused to ‘remove’ the grass. Nick explained that they were required to come over and talk to him about it, just because it was part of the complaint. After a short, somewhat humorous chat (both the officers and the zebra could barely believe that was the complaint), they came back over to the female deer’s house and explained the situation in the plainest terms they could. They’d gotten the Zebra to agree to come over for a ‘discussion’ to resolve the issues, but they both knew how that was likely to go.

Judy was almost certain that the deer was going to complain about them later. It wasn’t their fault that nothing could be done, and that nothing should be done in that situation. Both of them made that very clear in their notes, just in case that complaint did roll down the pipeline. They brought the neighbour out and had the two talk it over, and the zebra neighbour did agree to put up a ‘blocker’ the next time he mowed to reduce the amount that made it to her side.

But naturally, and reasonably, he refused to remove the clippings that were already there. While they eventually agreed to those terms, it was clear that there was a high chance the deer was not ‘satisfied’ that they hadn’t tried to force the neighbour to clean up her flowerbed. But, that was crazy.

They couldn’t do that kind of shit. Unfortunately, that entire escapade literally wasted two hours of the pairs time, and just had to help enforce her already unhappy mood. It sucked when they were called to such issues, especially since they didn’t really have a lot of things that they could do for either of them. There weren't any police training manuals for grass clippings.

It was clear that the neighbours had more issues than just the grass clippings, but what were they supposed to do? Book neighbour therapy sessions? Did that actually exist? Maybe hire a mediator, which they did hand out cards for some mediation help to likely no avail. Judy was pretty sure the deer threw it out, and it probably wouldn't have worked anyway.

Ah, it didn’t matter, as she reached the landing of their apartment. The day was done, and Judy could finally relax and enjoy the evening of her first day being 25 years old. And whether he knew or not, at least she was spending it with her friend. Who, unsurprisingly, seemed to be aware that she was upset today. And even though he didn't know why, he did try his best to cheer her up during their shift, constantly trying to put a smile on her face with his silly antics. Which, he did, several times as usual. But while he was doing it, he never once asked why she was upset.

A good thing, for a few reasons. One, he understood boundaries enough to know that if she wanted to tell him, she would. Judy was the kind of rabbit that didn't want to have to talk about all of the issues she faced in her life, she just wanted people to be there for her when she was done. It was one of those things that were great about him, probably because he felt the same way when he was having a bad day. Rehashing why often made it worse, rather than just trying to make someone's day better.

Two, if he’d asked, she would’ve had to come up with a lie. As great as it would be to tell him that it was her birthday then, it was still the same issue as before. ‘I’m upset because it’s my birthday’ sounded so weird, and petty.

She just. . . wanted to have a good time with her close friend, on her birthday. In order to do that, she needed to figure out some way to bring it up, without seeming like she was begging for attention. . . Was she really overthinking all of this?

Regardless, when they got home, he asked if she could head to the local grocer to pick up a few things for dinner. He said he was going to start supper while she was gone, and make some nice soup or noodles, a normal play for the fox when he wanted to make her smile. Nick’s cooking always cheered her up, especially when he went all out as she suspected. And if he needed a bunch of extra stuff, he was probably going to pull out all the stops.

Although, being in the grocer was also not the greatest idea when you were a little down. She glanced at the bag, shaking her head as she saw the plastic container of carrot cake muffins. That was her ‘birthday cake’ for the night, and she was going to try her best not to eat all twelve by midnight. They looked so good in the store. . .

You know what? Fuck it, she was going to tell him. He was doing all this to cheer her up, he deserved to know why. He wouldn't think badly of her, except maybe that she didn't tell him sooner. She'd do it after dinner when they were watching some stupid thing on the TV, or whatever they would do after eating. She’d say something like ‘Well. . . I guess I’m 25 now’, or some shit like that. Yeah. That was a good idea, that didn’t seem so attention-grabbing. Then it would just seem like she was stating a fact, late in the day. After all, what would it say about her if she chose _not_ to tell her closest friend that it was her birthday?

As she pushed open the floor door, she began to walk with more pep towards her apart. . . .ment. . . . door. Her nose wiggled, as she took in deep sniffs of the aroma filling the hall. It was sweet, gentle, and immediately made her start to salivate. That aroma. . . . could only be coming from one apartment. She snorted, shaking her head. The sneaky fox.

She took in a deep breath of the wonderful smell of banana bread as a smile spread across her face. Sent her out of the house. . . Just to cook her something she liked, huh? He would do that kind of thing, wouldn’t he? It was kind of stupid, honestly. She would have avoided buying the stupid muffins if he'd just told her the truth. Banana bread was way better, in her opinion.

Judy loved his carrot cake. But, his banana bread was something special. Growing up in a family of bunnies, carrot cake was usually the dessert of choice. She had a lot of it, even though Nick’s recipe was definitely one hell of a version. Nick’s banana bread was the first she’d ever tried, and it quickly became one of her favourites.

That would explain why most of the things on the list were pretty random. It didn't make sense for any recipe she'd ever tried, but at the time she didn't suspect such 'foul-play'. She chuckled, shaking her head as she walked up to the door. He was such a dumb dork.

But he really was one hell of a fox. . . Of a close friend. Didn’t know anything about why she was upset, but was still willing to spend a bit of time in the kitchen trying to cheer her up. . . It was one of the reasons she had a lot of different feelings for him.

With a snort, she reached for the doorknob and turned it harshly. Screw it, she was just going to tell him now. He’d know she wasn’t demanding attention, she wasn’t that type of rabbit. He wasn't that type of fox. She had to shake her head, thinking about how silly she’d been about this whole thing as she pushed the door open and walked through the entryway. While she closed the door behind her, she immediately looked to the right, expecting to see the sly fox standing over a loaf of fresh-cooked banana bread.

But, as she took in the scene of the kitchen, her mouth fell open in surprise. That was. . . Not a loaf of banana bread.

There was indeed a. . . ‘thing’, of banana bread-like substance in the kitchen. Only, it was circular, sitting on the cooling rack with the nearby cake tin discarded, and a large bowl and spoon beside it. It was. . . A banana bread. . . cake?

And the fox was there, with an expression like she’d caught him stealing from a cookie jar. He was standing in the middle of the kitchen, concerned eyes fixed on the rabbit as he held a plastic package of candles in his jaws in what seemed to be a desperate attempt to rip the package open with his fangs.

Was. . . this. . . ?

“Uhrrrm. . . . Hrpy Birfdy?” He mumbled out before he slowly pulled the package from his mouth as a slight smile twitched on his face. The package looked absolutely destroyed, as Nick cleared his throat loudly. “Ahem. . . that’s, happy birthday. Fluff.” He repeated, as her brows fell in confusion.

“How did. . . You. . . ?” She asked, as she carefully set the bag of groceries on the ground. How did he know it was today? She never said anything about her- “My parents.” She hissed out, in childish betrayal. They told him, didn’t they?

He smiled, chuckling a confirmation of her suspicion. “Yeah, your parents told me. . . . Hey, you trapped me here with them for _hours_ , don’t be so surprised. I certainly interrogated them to find out more about a 'Miss Judith Laverne Hopps'. . . Nice kit pics, by the way. They emailed me a folder, they were great. You were _absolutely adorable_. Still are, but that’s another story entirely.” The fox joked, as he set the pack of candles down on the counter, and leaned forward with a childish expression. 

She frowned, shaking her head as she walked up to the counter between the two. Why did the fox always have to harmlessly flirt with her? If he didn't have the gumption to go further. . . Wait, no, not that. She looked at the little cake, the candles, and the big bowl of. . . it must have been some kind of frosting? There was also a big pot of noodles on the stove that she could see, filled to the brim with vegetables. She loved homemade noodle soup.

She huffed, shaking her head. He knew, all this time, and he kept it all a secret just to surprise her. “You really did all of this for me?” She murmured, as the fox shrugged.

“It's not that much work, Carrots. . . Although to be honest, I think I may have screwed up the frosting. . .” He murmured, as he looked into the large bowl with a distressed expression. “I attempted to make a carrot flavoured frosting thing and. . . Well, now I’m not sure about how it went. I'm scared to try it.” He whimpered, one ear falling down as he shook his head. The foxwas acting, wasn’t he. . .

But still, that did sound like a pretty tasty thing to try and make. . . Judy reached out and snatched the big spoon out of the bowl, and looked at the orange-ish sticky mass on the end.

It did look odd. . . But, looks never meant much. She immediately took a lick from the spoon, more than willing to risk it. After he did all of this, she was more than willing to sample what he’d made. Besides, orange was one of her favourite colours.

She smacked her lips, as she tasted the strange experimental frosting. It was nice and thick, that was the first thing she noticed. It was surprisingly less sweet than she expected and very carroty. But, in a good way. One ear tipped to the side, as she took another tentative lick. She was usually not a fan of frosting, it was usually way more sweetness than the rabbit liked. But this. . .This was good.

“Well?” Nick asked cautiously, as he leaned forward on the counter with curiosity. “How is it?” He asked, tilting his head to the side. She had a feeling he’d tried it himself, and just wanted the rabbit’s opinion. Which, given it was her cake, that did make sense. . . But, if he was committed to his lie of not trying it. . .

She moved the spoon quickly, and wiped a big smear over the fox’s cute black nose, as she instantly grinned and started to giggle at the glob of orange hanging on Nick’s surprised face.

That look lasted for a moment, as a childish smirk formed. “Har-de-har-har, Carrots. . . You still haven’t answered my question. . . Don’t make me wipe my frosty nose on you.” He teased threateningly, as he leaned forwards towards the rabbit. A. . . tempting offer. She imagined that would be pretty funny.

She laughed and took a step back. “Hey now, Nick. You do that, I’m gonna rub this spoon all over you.” The rabbit responded, wielding the spoon in front of her as the fox menacingly leaned against the counter. “Just taste it, slick. I think you’ll like it.” She responded seriously, as she shook her head at the foolish fox. She knew he probably already tried it. . . But, now he needed to get that blob off of his nose.

She couldn’t imagine the fox making something and being scared to taste it. He narrowed his eyes at her for a moment before he seemed to relent as his tongue darted out and sampled the clump on his nose. He licked a few more times, with a possibly fake quizzical expression, before he finally spoke.

“Not too bad.” He murmured, as he finally leaned back up and crossed his arms. “It’s not too sugary. . . Now, do you think I should put it on the cake, or just leave it?” He asked, foolishly revealing his actual questions.

She shook her head, as she walked back up and offered the spoon to the fox. “Put it on the cake, silly. What else are you going to do with a whole bowl of frosting?” Judy mocked, shaking her head as Nick delicately plucked the spoon from her paws.

He grinned, as he shrugged and picked up the frosting bowl gingerly. Judy leaned on the counter, wondering if there was any way she could help him finish. It might be her birthday, but she loved the idea of working with him in the kitchen. “I don’t know, I could always do, _this_ " Nick responded, as he lifted the frosting bowl and swiftly attempted to upend it over her head.

She hopped back quick, raising her paws above her head as she tried to avoid any falling onto her. Meanwhile, the fox laughed, shaking his head at her as he put it back on the counter. Oh yeah. . . She guessed it was a little too think to pour randomly. But still, she huffed as the fox began to layer it onto the cake with the spoon haphazardly. She lifted a finger, waving it at him threateningly. “You be careful Nick. If you make a mess with that stuff, I’m going to make you clean it up.”

Nick’s eyebrows flew up, as he continued working on the cake. “Oh? So, if I poured on you, I’d have to clean you up? I’m guessing I’m not allowed to lick it off, am I?” He retorted back with suggestive brows, as her ears began to blush. And then, he opened his mouth and stuck the tip of his tongue out. . . And started to drool on the countertop . . She shuddered, as he laughed and shook his head. That was another image that she. . . Nope, she couldn’t let her mind wander now. . . Fucking Nick, why did he have to tease so much.

Fucking fox. . . He always had to be so innocently flirty, didn’t he? Even the first day they met, he flirted a bit. And he never seemed to mean a fucking bit of it. “Forget it, Nick. Never mind, I’m not going to help you finish this.” She muttered as she lifted the bag of groceries onto the counter. “I’m going to have a quick shower, you can put all your ‘groceries’ away.”

She turned, and quickly began to stamp away to the bathroom, as the image of the fox licking her face hung in her head. Let alone licking other things. . . He was such a damn tease. Did he even realize how badly he affected her all the damn time?. . . Now she couldn’t get those thoughts out of her head, great.

“Sounds good, 'birthday bunny'. . . I’ll have dinner and cake ready before you get out. . . I hope.” He added as he continued to haphazardly smear the frosting onto the cake. It didn’t need to be pretty, they were going to devour it anyway.

As for whether the food would be ready by the time she got out. . . Most likely, yeah. It would be a _long_ shower. The damn fox.

By the time she took _care_ of things in the shower and got dried off, the fox had more than finished preparing both dinner and the cake. And, he had put away the groceries like she’d asked him to, like a good fox.

Nick was special to Judy. . . She couldn't repeat that enough to herself, with the way she made him feel some days. And now, this happened. He planned all of this, for what had to be almost a month. He let her think for an entire day that he didn’t know it was her birthday, to cook her a nice dinner and a cake. . . . Just to surprise her for her birthday. He really had a heart of gold, didn’t he?

Now, after finishing their noodles, they were sitting on the couch ‘watching’ some television as they laughed, chatted, and they got ready to dig into the banana ‘cake’. First, she blew out the candles, of course. He made such a great effort of tearing the package open with his teeth (and throwing candles all over the place, she noticed), she had to use them right? Naturally, Nick demanded to know what her wish was, but she wasn't telling him. Not ever, otherwise, it wouldn't come true. Those were the rules, weren't they? She wasn't superstitious, but, she wasn't going to risk it either.

As for the cake itself, as expected, was awesome. Judy praised his cooking, as per usual, as he pretended that somehow he wasn't a fairly good cook. But, he was, and he was just going to have to accept the praise. Before she tasted it, she wasn't terribly sure about the carrot-banana combo together. But it actually really worked fairly well, in her opinion.

There was some comedy show on the tv, but the two weren’t paying much attention as Judy started on her second slice of cake. She was originally only going to have one slice, but it was too good not to have seconds.

As she ate it eagerly, Nick suddenly paused and set his plate down. She looked up at him, smiling. “What’s up?”

He raised a single digit, as he reached over and grabbed a small envelope off of the coffee table. “Before I forget. . .” He murmured, as he finished chewing a bit of cake, and swallowed. He held it out to her chest, with a big smile. “Happy birthday.”

She chuckled, as she took the envelope from his paws. A cake, dinner, and a birthday card, all from her best friend. For a 25-year-old bunny, she couldn't imagine wanting anything else on her birthday. Although to be honest, the card wasn't that necessary, considering he literally presented her with a cake. But, she would keep it anyway. She opened it and pulled the card from the envelope.

“To my best friend,” She read the outside of the slightly-tacky card (they all were tacky). But then, a small glint of steek caught her eye at the top of the card. She could just barely see the nub of the small paperclip wedged in the top, clearly indicating more than just words inside. . . Nick. . . . She shook her head, as she looked up at the fox across from her. He was watching her with obvious anticipation, like the fool he was. He was giving her money, for her birthday? She didn’t need anything from him. . . Just him here was more than enough. “You know I didn’t need a gift, right?” She reinforced with a nod, as she wondered if she should just give the cash back to the fox. He did need it more than she did, what with her promotion and all.

“Open the card, fluff.” He muttered, with a jerk of his head towards her. Yeah, maybe it was rude of her to think about giving a gift back. . . Although, that still had limitations, depending on what she found inside. She snorted, rolling her eyes as she opened the card. 

“Fine. . . But if it’s too much money, I’m. . .” She trailed off, as her eyes immediately tracked to the yellow strips of paper fixed to the paperclip. Nick chuckled a bit, as her ear tilted to the side in confusion. That wasn't green like money, what had he. . .

Her thoughts drifted off, as she focused on the words on the strips of paper. _Savanna Central Stadium, Zootopia Reunion Celebration, Gazelle._ A bunch of other words about dates and shit, and there in the corner was the ‘seat’ location. _VIP Area 2R_. These were. . . ?

“Wh. .” She started to say, as Nick watched for her reaction with his sly smile. Judy looked up at him, her head shaking slightly. It was impossible. They were all sold out, she knew they were. She'd tried her hardest to get them. And yet, these had to be. . . “Nick. . . How? What did you pay?” She murmured, confused. How did he get tickets, let alone VIP tickets? Did he buy them from scalpers? Oh spirits, how much did he pay, just for her birthday?

The fox let out a single chuckle, as he shrugged. “Not, as much as you're probably thinking, fluff. . . See, unlike you, a wonderful but silly bunny trying to buy tickets like a regular mammal, I decided to utilize the tools I had at my disposal: that tool was Ben. . . He bought up a bunch of tickets for people as soon as they were on sale. Some for him and his friends, a few apparently for Bogo and a few other officers. . . And _two_ , for you.” He murmured, as Judy looked back down at the card.

Sweet cheese and crackers. . . Two VIP tickets. . . Nick looked away, with a shrug, reading her expression easily. “Yeah. . . I figured you might want to take a friend along or something. I’m available, by the way. I haven't been to many, but aren't concerts are usually more fun with oth-“

Judy launched across the couch and wrapped her arms around the fox’s neck. She squeezed him tightly, as she buried her face into his shoulder as small tears of joy trickled down her face. This fucking fox. . . He was so, so good at plotting things. Using Ben like that. . . Why hadn't she thought of that? No wonder he’d comforted her about losing out on tickets so easily, and with such an upbeat attitude. . . . He already had a set reserved and waiting for his foxy butt to pick up.

“Thank you, so much Nick. . . Of course, I’ll take my best friend with me.” She mumbled into his shoulder, squeezing tighter as he chuckled softly. Judy didn’t care what it seemed like, she needed to hug him for this.

It felt good, to hug him like this as she held onto him tightly. His smell was so comforting, as she listened to the fox's heart beat rapidly. But, after a few seconds, the fox gently patted her on back, likely signalling he was unsure of what to do. The pats felt good. . . But honestly, she just wanted the fox to squeeze her in a hug. . . She wasn't going to ask for that, though. That'd be weird. “Ah. . . Good. . . I’ve never seen a Gazelle concert before. And while I’m not a huge fan of Gazelle, like a certain bunny I know, I’ve heard her shows are fun. . .”

She laughed, as she shook her head and pulled out the hug. She wiped the tears out of her eyes with her paw, as she looked at the fox across from her. And, she started to chuckle. “Mmm. . . I can’t wait to see you flailing around, dancing to the music.” 

Nick's ears flapped back. “Excuse me? I did not say I was going to be dancing at this thing. . . If you can call that dancing. I can dance, but not that mosh-pit style stuff. Don't worry Judy, I'll have fun standing on the sidelines.”

She snorted, rolling her eyes. “Mhum, I’m sure it won’t take much to make you come out of your shell, though. . . Even if I have to coax it out of you.” Judy teased him, as he shook his head at her.

He narrowed. “I’d like to see you try, fluff.” He dared her, as she just grinned back. Judy was more than certain that she’d be able to get him moving. The fox wasn’t that hard to encourage. But then, his smile dimmed a bit. “. . . Thanks for inviting me. . .”

She let out a huff, as she shook her head. Of course, she was going to invite him. “After everything you’ve done for my birthday. . . And everything else in my life. . . how could I not bring along my best friend? And before you get the wrong idea, I want you to come, I don't feel obligated at all, you dumb fox.” She added, cutting off any of those shitty thoughts that he might have.

He was really her best friend, and closest friend she’d ever had now. Nick was very special to Judy, a mammal that she couldn’t possibly replace. She never wanted to, either. He could stay her best friend forever, and she’d be happy. Mostly happy, anyway. And in about 4 and a half months, Judy would no longer be Nick’s FTO anymore.

119 days until Judy could ask him out on a date, so she could see how much was really behind those little flirts of his. Approximately, give or take a week or two to not seem too sudden with it. She didn't want to seem weird, or anything like that.

Still. . . What she wouldn’t give to kiss his stupid face right now. Let alone the other things she thought about in the shower.

If. . . He was interested, anyway, and wasn't just one of those overly flirty mammals with no intentions. If he didn't want to go out with her. . . Well, that'd suck.

* * *

_One week later_

Okay. Maybe Judy was a little bit excited at the concert. The whole thing was exciting, especially since it was in celebration of Judy’s efforts to help mend the rift between predators and prey. Granted, she helped enforce that divide at one point. . . But, that was a long time ago. And Nick and Judy fixed it, together. Which was yet another reason to celebrate, be energetic, and get a little too excited.

It was great, being there with Nick, and dancing to her favourite songs. Seeing Gazelle live was awesome, up there with her tiger dancers doing moves that Judy could only dream of pulling off. And maybe Judy did try and get Nick to get into the music by giving him a nice hip check during the songs. He’d been just sitting there, bobbing his head to ‘Try Everything’ like his foxy butt didn’t want to start dancing. Scandalous, considering how much he seemed to like the music.

And maybe, or maybe not, she directly ‘hip-checked’ his groin with her butt. It wasn’t. . . Intentional, exactly. . . Happy accident? No, just an accident, she wasn’t trying to assault his privates with her butt. . . Did she? Listen, dancing next to the fox that you had a crush on kind of did some things to your decision-making processes. Especially in the middle of a mini-binky of joy, and just being so. . . Pumped up.

Fuck. . . She couldn’t blame alcohol, and she really wished she could. But, she and Nick didn’t start drinking until they went to Annette’s diner after the concert. She would call it Renaud’s Kitchen, but, it was safer to just avoid the proprietor's ex-husband's name entirely. Besides, it was Annette’s, no matter what the sign outside the door said.

Delilah innocently joked about them coming in on a ‘date’, but the fox and rabbit were quick to shut that down yet again. Judy may have gone a little overboard with the whole ‘we’re only friends thing’. Nick had gone pretty quiet for a while after that . . She was embarrassed about bouncing her butt of his crotch, okay? She wanted to make it clear she had no intentions with it, even though she kind of did and definitely enjoyed the accident. . . . But then, she suddenly thought about what she said there looked to Nick when she was vehemently enforcing that they were just friends. . . Spirits damn it all. . . Well, at least he didn't seem as upset now. . . Right?

They had a quick dinner since it was pretty late. But that didn’t stop Judy from downing a bit more alcohol than she intended to. Mainly because she was so embarrassed, for two things now. . . Nick didn’t say anything about what she said, nor the little ‘mishap’ she had. . . There was no way he didn’t ‘feel’ that, though. She certainly felt a _lot_ of him. 

Maybe he thought it was an accident. . . Yes, it _was_ definitely an accident. But, hey at least it worked, right? The actual purpose she had worked, she meant. He ended up dancing the whole night long and seemed to enjoy himself for the most part. That was all she wanted, for him to enjoy her birthday present with her as much as he possibly could.

By the time they called a taxi at the end of the dinner, they were both a ‘bit’ tipsy as they piled into the car for the drive home. A ‘bit’. It was fine. They didn’t work until the day after tomorrow. More than enough time to recover

Heading up the stairs, they supported each other (with the help of the rail, she had to admit) as they scaled each floor carefully. All the while, they idly chatted and teased one another as usual. Judy complimented Nick’s dancing, Nick bashed his woeful attempts to dance.

It didn’t matter if it felt weird if you moved with the music you looked fine. The whole point was to have fun, she argued, which he certainly seemed to. He seemed to relent that he had a good time when they got to the apartment door and navigated their way to the trademark couch.

Originally their drunk asses thought they’d throw something on the TV. Y’know, to watch until they got tired. But no, they never managed to find the remote between their long drawn out chats about. . . Well, she didn’t really know what, she was barely paying attention. Random drunk shit, as usual.

To be honest. . . Judy wasn’t really paying a lot of attention. Mostly because she was drunk and tired. But also because she was busy thinking about the fox sitting beside her in a more objective format.

Judy wasn’t entirely sure the moment that she started to have feelings for him. He was always handsome, and sexy, she was aware of after she met him. At the time that was offset by the fact he was a piece of shit. But then. . . Well, they got to know one another, and she didn’t mind him so much.

Then the whole 3 months apart, and everything after that. . . Did it start it after he moved in? Or before? She had only admitted the attraction to herself a little while ago. But, she had to admit she had those. . . underlying feelings for a fair amount longer than that. She'd definitely been somewhat attracted to him before she saw him naked that one night. . . That was. . . Something.

She just didn’t think about her feelings that much before. They were nondescript 'friendly' feelings, she thought. It was what having a close friend was like, right? But now, it was obvious, and she couldn’t ignore the fact that she was attracted to Nick. . . It did help to see another interspecies couple out an about, that foreign couple downtown. If a wolf, and a rabbit could be together. . . Then, maybe her feelings for him weren't that out of line, or unrealistic. But. . . Until FTO training ended, there was nothing that she could do about it. It was wrong, for several reasons. For one, consent was complicated, when she had so much career power over the fox. She could have him fired at any notice.

Then there was the whole ‘could she be subjective’ if a relationship started during training. Something that even she wasn't sure she could do. Objectively she would say yes. She was sure she could. . . But they would never see it that way. She could never truly know until it happened, too. And the truth was, it was safer for her to wait until she could ask him out with zero drawbacks.

This was all banking on the thought that Nick was actually going to be receptive to any advance she made. As much as she’d like to assume his harmless flirting meant anything, she was also aware that he did the same flirting with others as well. It might’ve just been his personality, being that kind and sweet to get his own way. It was his talent, after all, with that silver tongue of his.

She didn’t want to think about this anymore. It was depressing. And pointless, for a while longer. She sighed, as she yawned loudly. “Aaah. . . . I think I’m going to head off to bed now. . . Thanks, Nick. . . For the tickets, you know.”

Nick chuckled, drunkenly, shaking his head. “No. . . thank you for bringing me along. . . And, y’know, everything else you’ve done for me. . . . . I don't know where I'd be without you, Carrots. . .”

“Oh, shut up fox. . . I’m too tired for your dumb ass. . .” She murmured, as she glanced at her phone. She didn't want to have to deal with any mope from the fox right now, she was too tired for that. 00:27 flashed back at her, as she let the phone slip out of her hand. He chuckled in response, shaking his head. But, that seemed to be the end of the fox, too, as she laid down across the couch.

110 days, she reminded herself as she snuggled into the nearby headrest. 110 days until she could ask him if that silver tongue was good for anything other than talking to people. . . Or, maybe she’d lead with something a little less suggestive. . . She didn't want to scare him off, if he didn't feel the same level of attraction yet. . . . Ah, this couch was comfy. . . Fuck wasting time getting up and going to her bed. . . The couch would fine, as she quickly drifted off to sleep.

The fox blinked, as his mind wandered back to the concert. As if his mind had possibly strayed very far from it, the whole night. “Y’know. . . You gotta work on your hip-check aim. . . . Carrots. . . .. ya kind of, um. . . Hit some shit, there. . .” He murmured, snorting as he remembered his silly look after she hit his. . . ‘groin’ area. It was an accident, he knew. . . Harmless.

But other parts of his body didn’t know, and he was so glad that no one was paying attention in that huge crowd. God fucking damn it, he even blepped. He never blepped, why did her ass make him blep. (Okay maybe he knew why, but still). Nick was just trying to make it less awkward, bringing it up. It happened, it was an accident. It might be permanently burned into his memory, but it was nothing. He wanted to make sure she knew that he wasn't. . . You know, mad about it, or anything. . .

When the rabbit didn’t answer, his drunk brain just decided to consider the conversation anyway. Like an idiot. “It was. . . . Really fun, going on that friend, date, thing. . . . . . . I really like being around you, Judy. . . I think I-” He murmured, finally realizing what he was saying almost too late

He turned to look at the rabbit with concern. “I mean, that, in a friend wa. . .” He trailed off, as the rabbit snored softly into the couch.

Oh. . . She was asleep. And with that thought, Nick became very aware of the shit he’d been rambling about. And he became very pleased to know the rabbit was completely conked out beside him, spewing stupidity. It was good she was asleep, he was being stupid right now. . . And drunk, five paces from admitting he liked her. Meanwhile, the rabbit continued to snore loudly.

He snorted, as he carefully, and slowly lifted himself off of the couch. The rabbit did have the right idea. It was time for him to head to bed too, he supposed. Let these thoughts disappear into the aether, and let the drunk stupidity go away. But, he should do something about Judy, laying there on the couch. . . Nick was a smart enough fox to know that she’d wake up if he picked her up, and carried her to her bed. Especially since he’d definitely fall over at some point if he could even manage to pick her up drunk.

However, he could always get her a blanket. He wandered behind the couch and stared between the two bedrooms as he thought about what to do. It was just to make sure she was comfortable, which was the right thing to do. He looked at her bedroom door first and decided that was a bad idea. He didn’t have permission to go in there, and wasn't going to break her privacy just to give her a blanket. Which left his blanket. . . He didn’t have a spare.

Oh well. He thudded his way into his room and pulled the blanket off. He dragged it back to the couch with zero grace before he carefully laid it across the couch and the rabbit in the corner. By then, she was snoring and drooling into the couch cushion, like the adorable creature she was. He’d attempt to give her a pillow, but he had a feeling she was just fine the way she was. Let alone he’d never be able to lift her head properly.

As soon as the blanket landed on her, the rabbit instinctively grabbed it, and snuggled into it with the most adorable grunts he’d ever heard. . . He smiled at the beautiful sight of the snug rabbit, thinking about how nice it would be to crawl on the couch with her, and cuddle her. Would she squeeze him, like the bl-

Nope, time for bed, as immediately jerked his vision away from her. He was not even going to let his drunk ass think about that. That was horrid, he was such a terrible fox. . . He turned and immediately started thudding his way back into his room. He was just drunk and dumb, but that thought was extra stupid. If he did that, it could’ve been considered sexual assault. It definitely fit the definition, as he entered his bedroom. He closed the door behind him and immediately stormed over to his bed with a lacklustre flop.

Drunk, tired, and this dumb childish crush was giving him all the wrong ideas now. . . He needed to be more careful, or he could ruin the one friendship he really had anymore.

New rule. No more drinking around Judy. . . Not only because of the cuddling thought. Rather, he’d almost told her some things that he’d never be able to take back. Things that. . . Judging by what she said in the diner today, would disgust her. . . They were just friends, exactly the way it was meant to be.

He wasn’t risking blurting out a drunk admission. . . Their friendship was way more important than his silly feelings. . . Sooner or later, the crush would go away anyway.

Meanwhile, the rabbit cuddled the Nick-smelling blanket carefully, as her dreams became filled with orange crimson and cream fur. . . 110 days were at least a lot shorter in her dreams.

And at least in her dreams, the fox could never say no to her.

* * *

The two sat in the car, sipping their coffees in the darkness of the night. Like they had for the last two nights in the more industrial parts of Downtown. They were on the watch for a break-in artist, who’d been hitting the area pretty hard lately. 

The MO was always the same. Two guys, one white truck. They’d park out on the dimmest lit fence area, and cut through the fence with pliers.

They’d break whatever shop door there was, and go in and steal as many tools as they could while wearing masks. But they never stayed longer than 30 minutes, if they could help it before they ran out and drove away.

It seemed to be random, without much order to which shop they hit in the area. This business was one they hadn’t hit yet, and there were a few other cops across the city staking out some of the other high-probability targets.

They were parked in the neighbouring parking lot, with all the lights off. Lights weren’t important to the predator partners, whose eyes were more than adept at peering out of the dark parking area and watching the business carefully.

However, it had been three nights with nothing so far. And, the two were eagerly waiting for the radio call that something else was going down at one of the other locations.

Wolfard sighed, as he continued to scan the lot across the road. “Yeah, not exactly an exciting way to spend a night, is it? C’mon, relax. We’ll be here a while.” Fangmeyer chimed in, as they took another sip from their coffee. They were right, the window was between midnight and 4 AM. , , However, the whole 'not a good way to spend a night thing', was very wrong to the wolf as he looked at his partner seated beside him.

He smiled and shrugged as he relaxed back into his chair. “It could be boring. But, I have you to chat with while we wait, which makes it a good enough time. I don't think there's a single officer that'd I'd rather be stuck in a confined space with. . .” He idly flirted, knowing that it would probably sail right over their head. A good thing, considering that he was still testing the waters with his feelings. . .

Fangmeyer laughed, shaking their head. “Oh, I don't believe that for a second. . . I’m sure there are more fun mammals to be stuck with than me. But, thanks. I’m glad it’s you I’m stuck with, too. . . You at least listen to me when I start talking about musical theory and shit.” 

The wolf nodded, shrugging. “It’s not that much of a chore, to be honest. It’s something I don’t know about, and I’m pretty attuned to learning from you by this point. . . Besides, it’s fun. . . I like talking to you.” It was all true, he had to admit. He didn't care about musical theory before, but when Fangmeyer talked about it he was instantly interested in learning. It wasn't that bad, either, it was somewhat interesting. But, only if Fangmeyer was talking.

Fangmeyer rolled their eyes. “Yeah, _you_ think it’s all fun. My parents had me take music theory, in addition to regular band class in high school. I don’t want to know the trash I know, it’s just stuck in my head. . . . Your parents ever do anything like that to you? Throw you into some course you didn't want?” They asked, innocently.

However, Wolfard’s smile disappeared, as he shook his head. “No. . . No, they didn’t. . .” The last time he spoke to his parents. . . He must’ve been 13, or 14 or something. Not the last time they tried to talk to him, but the last time he ever had a conversation with them. Because fuck them, and their opinions.

Fangmeyer nodded, seemingly picking up on the bad memories that were running through Wolfard’s head. It wasn't their fault though, and Wolfard didn't blame them for bringing it up as he nodded quietly. “Ah. . . . . Sorry. . . What do you think of the new guy in charge of the K-9 team?” they asked, attempting to shift the topic onto something better. That was the attempt, at least. This particular bit of 'shop gossip' was quite the divisive topic in the breakroom. To Wolfard though, he had some pretty clear feelings about the officer in question.

He sipped his coffee, before shaking his head. “He gives wolves a bad name. . . . And officers, too.” There were very few mammals that Wolfard could genuinely say that he hated. After all, most of the criminals they dealt with had issues themselves and needed help. Yet somehow, that wolf made it into that group, sitting right next to his parents. Beyond a few politicians, and some other officers, the list was fairly short. Fangmeyer nodded, likely in agreement as they took another sip of their coffee.

And then, Wolfard saw it. He narrowed his eyes. “3 o’clock, white truck. . . Is that the same one from the street cams?” He asked as he set his coffee cup into the holder. He watched as it pulled over to the fence, and turned off its lights. . . They were definitely following the MO so far.

The big cat focused on it and nodded as they reached over and snatched up the radio. “Yep, that’s our guys. . . What’ya say? If we get ‘em, celebratory dinner?” They murmured as two individuals in black clothing and masks stepped out, one holding a pair of bolt cutters. Wolfard would bet his bottom dollar that was them.

“Sure. McDonkey’s as usual? . . Let’s call ‘em in.” He muttered, as Fangmeyer clicked the radio and let the other cars know what was up. First things first, get the cavalry coming if you can. They had approximately thirty minutes to wait, might as well wait for backup. 

Two of them against two officers. Not bad odds, but it was better to be safe in case the two had weapons. Unlikely, but no sense not being safe. Police blindly wandering without a clear advantage was how weapons got drawn. And, after they got them. . . They could go, and hang out for another break together, and chat. That was more than enough for Wolfard to want to take every precaution possible. He wanted that burger date, whether it was a real date or not.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Judy, Judy, Judy. . . 
> 
> ALSO, HE DID FUCKING [BLEP](https://twitter.com/Zoops247/status/1293575740227756032/photo/1). HOLY SHIT. A rabbit straight up bounced off of him, and he blepped. That whole segment is filled with too many funny expressions.
> 
> Still, what does the future hold now? The rabbit has a long, long wait ahead of her. . . 110 days is a long time to live alongside a fox, that you happen to have feelings for. Who happens to have feelings for you. . .
> 
> Let's talk about the police car, and how it doomed the original Peelian Principles. Sounds weird, huh? But let's start. It wasn't until the late 30's to 50's that the police car became standard usage across nations, including Canada. I had an instructor from that time, a real dinosaur, and he talked about how it changed their lives in all the wrong ways. Beforehand, what do you think the police did to get around communities? They walked, and biked, and rode horses. And, they interacted directly with their community, building connections with various groups of the community. The problem though, it was a lot harder to respond quickly to offence calls. Couldn't walk around with a radio then, they were the size of a microwave. Had to use police call boxes to get and send calls. But hey, they were involved in their community, right? And man, that had a lot of positive things to it. It was nice knowing that there was an officer on the street, always nearby. Always cheerfully saying hello to the community, keeping a watchful eye out.
> 
> But then came the car. It had a lot of benefits, as a mobile office. And the radio? they could respond to calls instantly, and get there in minutes. Zoom Zoom, very reactionary as the term originated. You could respond to more calls, way faster. However, it had one downside.
> 
> It took officers off the streets, and put them into brightly coloured boxes, driving around. That meant you could lower the officer count entirely, right? And slowly. . . The police were pulled from their communities, into those big, clanking sedans. . .
> 
> The police car is a great utility device and a great tool. But, for the desire of saving money and manpower, it destroyed a connection to the people they were protecting. They became the 'gang', speedily responding to crime and solving it, rather than walking the streets to discourage it. This isolation also created other problems, including the formation of the 'last line of defence' way of thinking. That they are the only ones out there 'protecting society' (Thus, the Peelian Principle of 'The Police are the Public and the Public are the Police was allowed to die), that society doesn't know what they do for them. And there originates the cult-like devotion police agencies had to 'protecting' their rulebreakers.
> 
> And what happened to the community? Well. . . Here we are.


	11. The Effects of a Hotplate

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _"Now, the proofreader was adamant that I do not give you any hints in these chapters. To be honest, they think I'm spoiling the story just by talking to you. Furry Fanfiction Hizenstein Uncertainty Principles and so forth. I'll give 'em something more practical to be uncertain about. Their OC's next appearance."_  
>  -Furry Johnson
> 
> Black Lives Matter, BIPOC Lives Matter, LGBTQIA2+ Rights and Lives Matter. Jacob Blake deserves justice. If anyone still reading this somehow believes that the police don't need to be reformed, or torn apart and restarted, then they are being ignorant. I can tell you with certainty, with two years of education of how the police do and should operate, that there is no _possible_ justification for that (Nor for all of the other incidents we know of, and don't know of, too). None. Nothing. Anyone who tries to defend those officers' actions are fools, and racists. This is why BLM exists, and why I support them with every fibre of my being.
> 
> There are Four/Five primary (Two are similar, and coexist heavily) 'Models' of Criminal Justice policy. The Justice Model, the Deterrence Model, the Selective Incapatacitation Model, the Rehabilitation Approach, and Restorative Justice. Now, modern justice systems are primarily the Justice Model but borrow from all of them. To discuss, I'll start with the oldest model, the Deterrence model. Conservative groups are fans of the deterrence model, which believes that stopping future crimes requires having high and long punishments that will discourage offenders from committing offences. And theoretically, it works. If you know there's a speed camera in an area, you slow down. And it bases its logic on the concept that all people are 'rational human beings' who think about their actions in detail before committing them. However, everyone already sees the problem here. It only works if an offender believes that they will be caught 100% of the time and that the offender acts in accordance with rational thought. For one, not everyone is rational. And a starving man will think it's very rational to steal food to survive. Second, there's no way they believe they'll be caught 100% of the time because that's not how it works. The police aren't 'that' good. Thus, while this model 'exists', it should be discarded like the wet paper napkin it is.
> 
> So. . . I know I inferred I was going to work on a different story for my next release. . . And my Beastars chapter is nearly done. . . And this chapter was only supposed to be a 6,000-word filler for the next chapter. . . BUT THIS CHAPTER HAPPENED, SO LET'S KEEP GOING.
> 
> Disney owns this world, I just write things in it. But hey, if they want to hire me to be an official writer for the sequel, I'm okay with that. Guaranteed 100% WildeHopps. Eh? No? okay. . .

It was an average kitchen, in his opinion. It was a little larger than the one they had, and not just because it was built for larger mammals. The condominium itself was nicer than their small little apartment, but Nick wasn’t here to admire the condo. Nick was here because of crimes.

The fox carefully stepped about the oversized kitchen, his eyes scanning the room for anything that might be evidence of what had occurred here. He held his notebook in one paw, ready to begin writing in case he found anything more to document, while he did his best not to disturb the scene with his 4 gloved paws. He couldn’t be leaving tracks now, after all.

Over by the kitchen window, the beginning of the incident became very apparent to anyone. The ground was coated in glass shards, strewn every which way in the large room. There was a large dirty brick over by the table, likely the ‘tool’ of entry for the Break and Enter. Unless somehow the homeowners were into that ‘rough’ kind of décor, and the rest of the house certainly didn’t look like it. It was simple, quick, and easy for any B&E artist to get. And because of that, Nick couldn’t be too sure whether or not they were dealing with a professional, or an amateur. It either suggested that they were an ‘unprepared’, ‘spur of the moment’ burglar, or they were a ‘basic tool’ kind of thief.

The advantage of using a brick was that you could find them anywhere in Zootopia. Steal it from a construction site, go to a house under renovation and take it from the dumpster, or even look around in the alley’s enough and you’d find one somewhere. And, if you suddenly had the need to get rid of it, discarding it anywhere in the street wouldn’t look terribly suspicious. Although, judging by the way they left it in the kitchen, they weren’t exactly concerned about them finding the tool, or reusing it.

What they took was also fairly interesting, given the fact that there was an entire house to search when they managed to climb through the window. They took only the microwave, and a laptop that was in the living room, yet avoided taking anything else of value. If they spent a few minutes more searching, they would’ve found a lot more they could’ve taken if they wanted.

The TV was still there, the jewelry, and a bunch of other things that a professional would have tried to snag. Although only the jewelry was easily ‘pocketable’. Instead, it was just ‘what they could carry’. Another suggestion of ‘unprofessional thief’ was the fact that there was blood on the windowsill, and dripped all over the kitchen and living room, too. A lot of blood, actually, with bloody footprints tracked all over the place. They must’ve cut themselves on the broken glass when climbing in, suggesting that they were not equipped with gloves or other protective gear.

Was that just being unprepared, forgetful, or was the crime more of a ‘spur of the moment’ thing? The person might have been just someone looking for things that would be an easy sale, judging by what they had taken. Maybe a homeless mammal, spurred on by hunger or drug dependencies to steal (Or one that was at risk of homelessness, that was also true). Maybe a young kid, who just wanted a little bit of excitement and cash on the side. That was Nick’s leanings right now, given the improvised tool and the ‘unprofessionalness’ of the work. A professional thief would’ve gotten the jewels on the nightstand, and not bothered with a microwave. They would have someone they could take it to, instead of a pawnshop. But, if all you were looking for was enough money for a bite of food, or drugs, then anything would do. And appliances were definitely an option. Not that any of that was fairly concrete evidence, merely speculation on Nick’s part. He didn’t write his ‘gut feelings’ in his notebook as evidence. 

Evidence was evidence. Hunches were worthless. But still. They made it somewhat easy on the officers, what with the bloody pawprints all over the place. It would take very little for the experts in forensics to determine what species they were, and attempt to match it with any records they had. Judging by their size, it was a medium-ish mammal. However, that part of the investigation wasn’t Nick’s problem. That was a problem for the Special Crimes Unit, not Nick and Judy.

The thing about being on Patrol was that you were always the first people dispatched to major crimes, but you were often not the ones who really ‘investigated’ the crime. They were the first responders to this, doing their best to lock down the scene, interview witnesses, and discover evidence. But they weren’t allowed to do much beyond that in serious crimes like these, that instantly summoned things like the forensic team. At that point, it was turned over to Major Crimes.

Judy right now was taking an interview from the homeowner in the living room, who Nick could still hear her soft sobs. He felt bad for her, coming home to what must have been a horror show with all the blood on the floor. The cougar had been out at work and had come home to see the blood tracked about the living room and the kitchen. She, smartly, called the police before entering further, just in case the person was still in the house. It also prevented her from potentially interfering with the evidence.

But, after slipping on some booties, and walking about the house, the two officers quickly reassured her that the culprit had left. The bloody pawprints made it pretty easy to determine where they went, in the house, on the wood flooring. With that, they had her slip on her own paw coverings, and walk them around the house to point out all the things that were either missing or out of place. To both her surprise and theirs, the number of items missing was only two. She’d feared the worst, reasonably. But after that, Judy sat her down for a brief interview while Nick did a more detailed look around for evidence.

The walkaround with her did reveal something interesting, as he looked back at the table nearby. There was an open beer on the counter that the owner swore was not opened by her. It was definitely from her fridge, but, she hadn’t drunk any lately. That was yet another indication that this was likely someone very inexperienced with crime, or desperate. Leaving potential saliva, and fingerprints at the scene? If they didn’t already have enough DNA evidence from the blood, then that would’ve been a really important clue. Already, this looked like it was probably going to be fairly easy to find out who was responsible. If the fox had to guess, the major crime officers would have a list of potential suspects narrowed down by the end of the week.

Still. . . Nick wandered over to the window, carefully stepping as to not disturb either the glass or the bloody evidence around it as he peered carefully through the open hole. The blood trail ended at the base of the window, suggesting they’d managed to cover whatever wound it was they got shortly after exiting. At least, covered decently well, there were still a few drops he could see here and there.

There was a part of him that felt bad for the mammal if they were indeed homeless like he suspected. Or just desperate, trying to survive in Zootopia. Working on the street, he met a lot of homeless mammals from all different walks of life. And each and every one of their stories was different, and tragic in their own right.

He remembered Jimmy, who had been a Registered once. He had a nice house, a wonderful family, and everything a mammal could’ve wanted. And then his wife died of cancer, very young. . . He started to drink, to take away the pain. He lost his job to the drinking, and then his house, and then everything. Last Nick had heard about him, he’d been killed during an altercation with another person. . . He didn’t deserve to die.

Or Monique, an older woman whose untreated mental health issues lead to her living on the street. She couldn’t afford to see a psychiatrist, and all the public ‘accessible’ services were too busy to see her. So, she stopped trying and adapted to life as a homeless mammal. A lot of people thought her actions were erratic when she was suffering from her mental illness. The number of times he saw mammals call the police on her, and they’d come and pick her up. They’d take her to the homeless shelter, and then the cycle would just resume.

Jack had been a bus driver before the government tightened their belts, and he was laid off. But he’d been a bus driver for 30 years. In the job market of Zootopia, there weren’t many jobs available to an ex-bus driver. Everyone wanted college degrees, and the jobs that didn’t require them were too competitive for the 50-year-old to get in. So, he too ended up homeless after a time. . . He was such a nice mammal, it almost made Nick cry when he heard that he’d managed to get somewhere safe in a rehab facility for alcohol dependency.

It was easy to forget that the homeless were still mammals, like everyone else. And that everyone could be in their position, given the same set of circumstances. There were a lot of families in Zootopia that were only a few paychecks away from poverty, and all it would take would be them losing their jobs for a month to be out on the street.

Sadder still was the reality that Nick knew would happen to this mammal. If the mammal who did this was caught, they would be charged for the B&E in a court of law. They would go to trial with a public defender, and likely either lose or plead guilty. They would saddle them with a fine, probably, one that they could never pay anyway because they were obviously homeless. Defaulting on payment, they would be sent to jail regardless, to ‘pay’ off what they owed to society.

When they got out of jail, their life would be no better off. Worse, no doubt. And the cycle would continue, over and over again. He saw the cycle many times before, more than he wanted to.

That’s not to say that Nick didn’t understand the way law and order worked. A mammal was crying in the other room, after all. No, they committed the crime, and the crime was a bad thing overall. The crime wasn’t good, no matter what the circumstances were. But, when the systems they designed to punish the crime only exacerbated the issues that caused it. . . Didn’t that mean it was a broken system?

Nick sighed, as he stepped away from the window. That was too much introspection for a fox to make today. If there was one thing he learned on the street, it was looking at anything for too long meant you were bound to find issues with it. He couldn’t really think of a better option, off the top of his head.

Luckily, his introspection was halted as he heard the conversation in the living room begin to finish up. He heard a light thump, followed by several more as Judy walked into the kitchen. She took a long glance around the room, before focusing on the fox in the middle of the room. “Well, what do you think, Nick? Got any thoughts?” She murmured, as she carefully stepped around the bloody pawprints and droplets around the room. They didn’t want a lecture about contaminating evidence, after all.

“Well, I think the best thing we should do is get the description of the items out to the local pawnshops as soon as possible. Chances are if they don’t have a fence, they are going to take whatever they got to the nearest one for the quickest cash. If they haven’t already. They might discard the laptop if it’s password-protected since a pawn shop won’t likely take it if they can’t open it. Unless, of course, they find a buyer on the street.” He began, Judy nodding along with his statements. 

That was just obvious shit with stolen goods, honestly. Check the pawnshops ASAP, get the info out there. With any luck, the owner was able to retrieve the serial number of the laptop. Unfortunately, Nick knew the odds for the microwave details were just ‘black, and silver’, with maybe a brand if they were really lucky. But still, a worthwhile description to give out to pawnshops, just in case. It would be a fairly ‘recent’ pawn of a microwave.

“Also, it would be good to check with any local clinics about anyone coming in off the street with a cut on their paws. It might help narrow down the possibilities. Judging by the shape and size of the pawprints, I’d say it’s a medium-sized mammal. They didn’t take the jewelry, but did take the microwave, possibly suggesting that they wanted to take items that would be both more difficult to trace and easy to pawn.” He finished, as Judy sighed.

“That’s some mighty fine detective work, Nick. I didn’t even think about the local clinics, that could really narrow the suspect list down. They almost always have security cameras in the lobbies. . . Did you find anything new?” She asked, as he slowly nodded. He had, but it wasn’t much to talk about.

“There’s a piece of a rag on the ground under that kitchen chair, with a bit of blood on it.” He murmured, gesturing over to the small white fabric, coated in small red droplets. It looked like it had been very haphazardly ripped, and then discarded as quickly as possible.

“I think they might’ve ripped up a dish towel to try and make a bandage with it. Other than that, I think we caught everything of importance on our first walkthrough. They didn’t seem to spend much time trying to root through the house for valuables, judging by the blood and paw trails around the house. They didn’t even go into the bedroom or the bathroom. According to the blood, anyway. . . What did Ms. Farren have to say?” He inquired, as Judy smiled at him and flipped her notebook open. Considering she wasn’t there during the crime, he imagined it wasn’t a whole lot of information. Not her fault, of course.

“She said she left home for work at 9 AM and came back at around 12:15 PM for lunch. That’s when she found the broken window, which gives us our time slot for the crime. She was able to give me the make and model of the laptop, the description, and the password key. No serial number, but she did state the background picture was a picture of her and her parents at a beach. As for the microwave, she stated that it was a Samstag model, with a black body and stainless-steel front door.” Judy poured out the information she received from the homeowner, as Nick reflexively nodded. That was a little better than he expected, honestly. And the narrow window of time was certainly good news for the police.

But, despite that, Judy sighed and flipped her notebook closed. “Major crimes just pulled up. . . Time to relay all the information we’ve worked for, and be on our way I guess.” She asked as Nick put his notebook into his pocket. It didn’t surprise Nick, Judy was never a fan of having to pass over investigations. The spunky bunny wanted to be part of an investigation from the start to finish, the way she did with the Nighthowler case. But, unfortunately, B&E was one of those crimes where they were required to pass the case off to Major Crimes if there was no clear suspect.

There certainly wasn’t one at the moment, with the information we had. Nick understood why they did that, of course. When it came to home break and enters, it was always considered very serious. After all, the old adage ‘a mammal’s home is his den’ was still an important right. And, with B&E's it was always important to compare the MO with others to find out if you were dealing with one group doing many, or individual events. 

Which meant a very upset rabbit for Nick to deal with. “Yeah. . . Time for the first responders to pass the torch, hmm?” He murmured, as she slowly nodded. It was the way it always went for patrol officers. They would respond to a serious crime call, record as much information as they could, and then pass it off to the mammals in Major Crimes to solve. Usually.

On cue, they heard the knock at the front door, and the two officers turned towards the living room. They heard the homeowner hopped up, and walk over to the door. While the homeowner exchanged greetings with the newcomers, Nick and Judy slowly walked back into the living room, nodding at Officers Jackson and Johnson standing in the door. The two big cats, a tiger and a lion, were very familiar to Nick and Judy at this point.

They nodded in reply, as Nick looked down at the bunny with a grin. Of the last month, they’d been together on the force, they had gotten to investigate and solve several smaller crimes. Thefts from businesses, a few minor assaults, and all of that ‘fun’ stuff. As far as Nick was concerned, it didn’t matter what they were doing, so long as they were out there trying to make the world a better place.

Still. The bunny was competitive. One of the many reasons he felt the way he did about her, with that spunky personality. . .

As Jackson talked to the homeowner and got her details, the big lion slowly walked over to the pair and pulled out his notebook. Nick and the lion had chatted a few times before, and he seemed like a fairly nice guy. Nick nodded again to him, as he stopped a few feet in front of them. “Hopps, Wilde, good to see you. . . What’ve we gotten so far?”

The two pulled out their notebooks, as Judy took a step forward. “So, we received the call at 1225. . .”

* * *

While they finished sharing the information with Jackson, the pair took them through the house and showed them all of the evidence they had found so far. They provided Major Crimes with their insights, as well as a copy of the initial statement given by the homeowner. As soon as that was done, they took their leave of the house, and the investigation for the most part.

But it was clear that the rabbit’s mind hadn’t left the case. As they descended the short steps, Judy shook her head. “I bet if we went to the nearest pawnshop now, we’d find that microwave sitting there. Or at least the pawn employees would remember someone trying to pawn one.” She muttered as the fox looked at her with a light smile. She was always such a go-getter.

Nick nodded, as they reached the landing. “True, true.” That was undoubtedly one of the steps that the two cats were going to utilize, it was the obvious choice.

“And I bet that if we went to the nearby clinics, they’d have some info on a mammal who came in recently with a bad laceration.” She murmured, repeating the leads they’d formulated earlier. He knew where Judy was going with this, however, that was not a good idea. As much as he loved her for taking what she wanted, stealing an investigation was another story.

“It’s fine, Carrots. You know we can’t just steal a file from another unit, we’ll get in trouble. . . Besides, you know by the time we get driving dispatch will send us to those places anyway.” He assured, her, as they approached the car. Officer’s Jackson and Johnson were smart cats, they knew that their best shot would be to get people out to those leads as soon as possible. Which meant utilizing the nearest available patrol cars through dispatch. But it was their case to run, not Nick and Judy’s.

She looked at him and nodded. “Yeah, it just sucks, not being able to work on the investigation we started without ‘permission’.” She said with a sigh, as they both walked to their respective cruiser doors. Nick saw that frown, as she clicked the unlock button and reached for the door, and he grinned.

He couldn’t just leave her feeling unhappy. “It’s alright, fluff. . . That is unless the idea of riding around with your fox partner doing nothing is that _horrible_ of an idea to you. Stuck in a car with a big bad, stinky fox.” He teased, as he put on a mockingly sad face. Ever since she made a comment about his smell earlier today, he planned to make her regret it. Sure, all she said was he smelled ‘strong’, but he understood what that really meant. She glared back at him, shaking her head as she popped her door open.

“I’d rather be solving a _case_ with my fox partner. . . I also never said you smelled bad, I just said your cologne was a little strong today. Stupid.” She retorted as she hopped into the car. Nick chuckled, as he popped open his door and looked across at the rabbit in the front seat.

“Well, why are you spending so much time sniffing me, hmmm Carrots? If you were a predator, I’d think you plan to eat me.” He joked as he imagined the rabbit trying desperately to bite him with her big, dull front teeth. Wait, that’d probably hurt pretty bad still. . . Although. . .

He crawled into the front seat, and seatbelted himself in while the rabbit glared at him unamused. “I live with you, work with you, and hang out with you Nick. I can’t _not_ smell you, it’s impossible. . . And quite frankly, your cologne choice stinks. You’d be way better off with your ‘natural’ musk, or whatever you had before this recent switch. I don’t know what could’ve possessed you to buy it.” She chastised him, as he chuckled along. With inner pains about his new cologne purchase, that he was beginning to regret.

He leaned over towards the rabbit, his brows raised curiously. She liked his. . . ‘natural musk’? “What was that fluff? Got a thing for natural smells, hmm?” He murmured, as the rabbit leaned away from him with a sneer.

Her little nose wrinkled in revulsion, as she shook her head. “It’s better than that swamp-water cologne. . .” She replied as she put a paw to her nose. “Lean away so I can breathe again, hmm?”

Nick laughed, as he relaxed back into his chair. “Fair enough, Carrots. Since you’re stuck with me, I’ll change my cologne. . . But, just to be clear, I’d _never_ force you to change your perfume, fluff. I think you smell nice.” He murmured, as he turned away and looked out the front window of the car.

Strangely, he saw another police car pull up to the front of the house, no doubt called to the same house. “Yeah. . . well. . . I . . . don’t really wear perfume, Nick. . . Often, anyway. It’s too expensive for me.” She murmured to a distracted fox, as his attention focused on the vehicle that had arrived.

Was that the forensic team? No, it couldn’t be. They had a big van thing, he’d seen it several times before. This was a regular cruiser. “Thanks for the compliment though, Slick. It’s nice to know I smell good enough to fool your snoot.” She murmured, as she looked over at the fox. However, nothing was tearing Nick’s attention away from the new arrivals.

“Who’re them?” Nick asked out of curiosity. Surely Judy might know, she knew more about all the different departments of the ZPD. Every time he turned around, it seemed like there was a new one being created. The doors of the car opened, and two large mammals stepped out of the cars. The one he didn’t recognize, he was some young coyote. He looked both ways and crossed the street with a light jog. But, as his eyes turned to the much larger wolf, his breath caught in his throat.

“That’s the K-9 squad. They were probably called to see if they can get a track with the blood, especially since we know they had one blood-covered footpaw. They’re pretty helpful if they get to a scene soon enough. Otherwise, the scents get pretty covered.” She responded, as the two officers carefully crossed the street, and walked up to the front door.

But Nick’s attention was focused on the wolf. On Wolfsei. That was him, wasn’t it? That. . . That fucking wolf, who tried to charge Nick with murder. . . It had to be him, the appearance was uncannily matching. Nick felt a strange feeling in the pit of his stomach, as he watched the wolf knock on the door, and be invited into the house. That wolf. . . still worked for the ZPD? He was actually still here?

“What’s up, Nick?” Judy asked, leaning closer across the centre console as the fox’s attention was finally pried off of the wolf. He looked at the rabbit, his black ears flat against his neck as his mind wandered back through that horrifying memory. The Reid method. . . those hours in that metal chair, in that cold room.

But the bunny looking at him with concern pulled him from those memories, thankfully. He blinked, as his ears flipped back up. “Oh. . . Nothing, fluff. . . That wolf seems familiar to me. . . I know everyone, remember? Anyway, what were you saying?” He asked, smiling as those memories faded in the back of his head. The fact that he was still working here pissed him off to no end. . . But what could he really do about it? Judy shook her head, as her eyes narrowed at the fox. He had a feeling that she wasn’t going to accept that answer. . . To be honest, he’d never accept that response from the rabbit, either.

However, Nick didn’t want to talk about his bad cop experiences with his police partner and friend. Before she opened her mouth to speak, Nick interrupted as fast as he could. “Oh _yeah_ , I remember. You were telling me how attractive I smell, right? Something like that.”

She snorted, shaking her head. Yeah, he didn’t really think that was going to work. “Nick, what-“

 _“Z240 from Base.”_ A voice crackled from the radio between the two, as they turned to face the sound. Nick had never been happier to hear that sound. That. . . Would distract the rabbit, right?

Judy looked back at Nick with a glare, as she reached out and grabbed the microphone. “Base, go ahead.” She muttered as she pointed at the fox. He had a feeling that wasn’t going to be the end of that. But, at least Base managed to pick the right time to interrupt.

 _“MC10 has requested a check of the local pawn shops about Case 1706-4415, are you still in that area Z240?”_ The voice continued, as Judy nodded at Nick. The fox smiled, unsurprised that he turned out correct. The two cats were bombastic, but they were not dumb when it came to their job.

Judy held the transmit button again. “Yes, we are, we’ll get on it right away, Base.” She replied as she buckled herself into the seat with her other paw. With any luck, the rabbit would drop the conversation about the wolf after this interruption.

 _”10-4, Z240.”_ They replied, as Judy set the microphone back in the holder, and started the car. That was a good sign. . . He needed to reinforce the subject change, though.

“Should I roll my window down, fluff? Let some of the stinky fox cologne out?” He teased, waggling his eyebrows at the rabbit. The sooner he started cracking jokes, the sooner she’d forget about bringing up the wolf. Knowing Judy, she’d try to do something about it, and would likely end up in trouble or something.

And besides, Nick was getting a little ahead of himself with immediately condemning them, wasn’t he? He didn’t know who Wolfsei was today. Maybe he’d learned? Been disciplined enough to change? Had a moment, like Judy, where he realized all the bad things that he’d done. Heh. . . That was a little too hopeful, he imagined. But the less he thought about it the better.

Judy looked at him and frowned. A really good sign for the fox’s diversion plan. “No. . . I’ve got it, stinky.” She responded as she lifted a paw to thumb her set of controls. As the window motor whirred to life, Nick couldn’t contain his chuckling as she started the car, and began to pull away. 

That cologne was getting throw in the trash as soon as he got home. ‘Attracts all types of prey mammals’, what a load of bullshit.

* * *

Nick stared into the computer screen, slowly clacking away at the keyboard as he worked on finishing the last of his daily reports. The endless, electronic reports that he had to type up every shift, and submit at the end of shift. This was the moment when you found out whether or not you took good notes or crappy notes. At least he was good at that by now. He had only been through two and a half months of his six months of ‘training’ but by now the rabbit trusted him to fill out his reports without a single look over.

At least, that’s what Judy told him anyway. He had no guarantee that she didn’t still look them over after he submitted them. . . But, if she did, she never said anything to him about it. And every once in a while, he came to her anyway to make sure he was still doing it correctly. Granted, it wasn’t a far chair roll to her anyway.

Nick peered over his shoulder, to the rabbit seated behind him at the other computer within the cubicle. She was humming, likely to the tune of some Gazelle song Nick assumed. It seemed familiar, probably one of the ones the singer performed that night. But he didn’t know which one, there were many that night. While he didn’t hate Gazelle, he was certainly not a superfan like Ben or a big fan like Judy.

The song choice never mattered to the fox. It was still adorable to hear her humming behind him, while he worked on finishing up his reports. While working on reports, the rabbit had the tendency to break out humming to any tune that crossed her mind. She’d apologized for it before, to which Nick eagerly told her to not worry at all. Nick very much enjoyed listening to her hum along behind him. He turned his attention back to his notebook and the computer, as he continued typing up the final details of his day.

Other than the initial investigation, they didn’t have much to put in their reports. They went to about 3 pawnshops before they found one that had remembered someone coming in with a microwave. They’d refused to buy it because they knew the person was known for selling stolen items. But, they got some grainy footage of the interaction, and it gave them a decent description of the individual in question.

It was a male dingo, dressed in a green jacket and dirty green pants. The shop owner confirmed he had a cloth wrapped over one of his paws, helping enforce the suggestion that it was the one they were looking for. They passed that description off to Jackson and Johnson, who thanked them greatly as they headed for another pawnshop.

Apparently, the K-9 team was having trouble locating a good track. . . That gave him a lot more happiness than it should have, probably. They went to the next few pawnshops looking for it, and soon enough found the microwave at a smaller pawnshop, a few more blocks away. It was about that time that they heard over the radio that Jackson and Johnson had located the suspect in a clinic, getting stitches in his paw. After he was taken care of by the nurses, they took him into custody for the charge.

Which is where their second event of the day came from. Apparently, he’d tried to sell off the laptop to people on the street, but no one would buy it without a password. So, he ditched it in an alley off on 5th Avenue. Nick and Judy were sent by dispatch to locate it, and spend way too much time digging around in dumpsters looking for it.

Nick made a joke about whether or not his cologne was still the worse thing she was smelling. Judy confirmed it was still worse than the garbage bins, surprising Nick. What a waste of $50. . . But eventually, they found the laptop, tagged it, dated it, and signed it in an evidence bag.

After taking that back to the station, the rest of their day was pretty short and bland. A few social service calls (luckily, no lawn clippings on flowers again), and that was pretty much it.

Looking at the tail end of his report, the rest of the day would barely fill more than a few paragraphs of the daily report. But still, he needed to put everything from his notebook into the report, so he kept writing in all the boring bits about the end of their shift.

However, his ear twitched as he heard the rabbit’s humming slow to a stop. Usually, that could mean she was distracted, possibly about to ask him something. Or maybe several other things, but Nick was pretty sure the rabbit was about to talk. Call it a bad hunch. “So. . . Nick. . .” She began, as he heard her chair creak as she turned to face him.

The fox followed suit, smiling as the rabbit came into view. The rabbit was looking back at him with a small smile, but the concern was written all over her face. “Are you in a place where you’re okay with talking about that wolf officer you saw? You seemed. . . upset, after you saw him. And, for a while afterward, between all of the jokes. I can’t help but feel there was more to that than just a simple ‘I know him’ situation. . . You can talk to me, Nick.” The rabbit asked, her paws resting on her knees as she leaned into the conversation. That meant there was no way out of this conversation, didn’t it?

Nick winced at the question, immediately regretting the fact that Judy could no doubt see it on his face. She nodded slightly, confirming that suspicion regretfully. But then, maybe it was good to talk about it? If it ever was going to be, it would be with Judy, after all. “He. . . Looks very similar to an officer who I had an ‘altercation’ with when I was younger. Ten years younger, specifically.” It had been a long time, hadn’t it?

Judy’s brows lowered. “What do you mean by ‘altercation’, Nick? Did you get into a fight, or?” She started, as Nick lifted a paw and waved as he shook his head. As if. . . hadn’t she already read his file before they met? There couldn’t be too much in there, right?

“No, no, nothing like that, fluff. _I_ did nothing. However. . . He was convinced I was involved in a crime, that I had nothing to do with. We didn’t really have a lot of. . . Pleasant interactions. And I really mean it when I say I was _not_ involved.” Nick responded, downplaying the details a little bit. For his sake, and hers. It was the truth, but he’d rather not bring up what happened in those 3 hours to make him hate the officer that much.

It wasn’t like it was the first time that he’d been questioned by the police. Nor was it the last time. But the things that the wolf told him, and that interrogation. . . “Why did he think you did it?” Judy asked, snapping Nick’s attention back to the present. Thankfully, he admitted. Those weren’t good memories to focus on.

Nick shrugged. “Because. . . I was a fox, I guess. He stopped me near the scene of the crime and said I ‘matched’ the description of the suspect. So, he questioned me for a while, and was a real piece of work about it. . . But it’s nothing. It was a decade ago, hardly important now.” Nick added as Judy’s eyes narrowed.

Nick slowly shook his head and looked down at the floor. “It’s not that big of a deal, honestly. . . I didn’t even think about it until I saw him today, and that’s why it kind of bothered me. . . Just a reminder of sadder times in my life, I guess.” He lied, as he let out a heavy sigh. The rabbit nodded and hopped off her chair.

Nick glanced back up at the rabbit, surprised as she began to approach him. What was the bunny about to do? She looked. . . Very sad. He expected concern, not sadness. She walked across the short area between them and placed a single paw on his knee. What. . .

Somehow, the rabbit seemed more upset about it than he was. . . But why? “That’s. . . Horrible, Nick. . . Did you report him? Back then, I mean.” She murmured, as she rubbed his knee gently, looking deeply into his eyes. Nick’s ears flicked back, as he shook his head lightly.

Yeah, about that. . . “No. . . Back then, I was used to that kind of treatment from the police. He wasn’t the first or last officer to do something like that. . . And I was pretty used to the reality that there was no one out there who’d listen to a fox.” He mumbled, shrugging as the rabbit shook her head at him. 

“It didn’t help that I was doing. . . shady-ish stuff at the time, I suppose. Don’t want to poke the cops and cause a problem for me, y’know? ” She retracted her paw silently, earning a slight flick of Nick’s tail in regret. The touch felt nice, even if it made him feel. . . He shifted his paws draping his arms across his thighs. Just in case anything about his pants looked. . . weird. But the rabbit was too busy staring at the floor to notice.

“. . . I’m sorry, Nick. . . That you had to deal with this then, and. . . Well, ever. . . I want you to know that I’m here, and I will _always_ listen to you.” She spoke earnestly, as Nick nodded along. He knew that she was always willing to listen to him, that was a given after the 11-ish months they’d known one another. But hearing it every once in awhile still warmed his little fox heart, in so many ways. But there was no way he was going to ruin his aloof fox image now. Or. . . Reveal anything else going on.

He snorted, shaking his head. “I know, fluff. I know you support me. . .But, not by cologne.” He teased, hoping to wipe that sad look off the rabbit's face with a little humour. Yes, it was depressing, but Nick had long since gotten over it. And. . . Quite frankly, right now he’d rather have a happy bunny than a sad one.

She glared at him for a moment before she rolled her eyes. “Alright, Nick, we’ll stop talking about this. . . But,” She paused, stepping forward to bop him on the nose. Instinctively, he let out a small sneeze, shaking his head as he focused on the grinning rabbit. “I _am_ here for you, Nick. And if someone ever treats you like that again, I’m going to kick their ass. Okay?”

Judy set her paws on her hips, looking up at the fox with her trademark grin. Nick couldn’t help smiling back, as he nodded. “Alright, Carrots. . . Maybe don’t commit assault though, okay?” He replied, raising a brow at Judy.

However, her grin only got wider, as she narrowed her eyes at the fox. “I don’t know, Nick. If they mess with _my_ fox, you never know what I might be willing to do.” She responded, cocking her hip out sassily as the fox stared in amazement.

Was she. . . Intentionally doing that to be sassy, or? “Heh.” He muttered, as he slowly shook his head. “Dumb bunny.”

She softly chuckled, looking up at him with those beautiful purple eyes. “Now, we’d better get back to work, hmm?” She murmured, as she hopped back into her chair. Nick nodded, as he turned back to his computer.

As he began to clack away at the keyboard, the rabbit behind him began to hum again. Nick smiled, as he recognized the song immediately. Beyond the concert, Judy played the song on the car radio, while working out in the ZPD gym, and even sometimes at home.

He began to quietly hum along, clacking away to the tune of ‘Try Everything’ as he thought about what the rabbit had just said. ‘Her’ fox, huh. . . Fox friend, maybe. . . But was that all that meant? He shook his head slightly, as he focused on his report. Distractions meant writing mistakes, and he didn’t need that issue. He could think about that later tonight. . .

* * *

“Why would Bogo ask us to go to a fundraiser?” Nick asked as he walked around the kitchen, gathering up the supplies he needed to whip up a quick dinner. He knew the large mixing bowl was somewhere in the kitchen. . . 

They finished up the reports fairly quickly and were both very glad that the day was over when they finally left that small cubicle. He felt sad that Judy had to deal with that stink, the whole time. . .  
But, on their way out of the station, they were stopped by the very excitable Ben. Apparently, Bogo asked him to tell them that they were ‘requested’ to attend the upcoming ‘Homelessness awareness Fundraiser’ on Friday that the Police Union was putting on. And by ‘request’, it was more of being ordered to, apparently.

Judy and Nick had seen the open invite email earlier in the week about it but quickly deposited it into the trash bin. Neither one of them really wanted to spend a night out rubbing elbows with the rich people of Zootopia, and at the time they thought they had zero obligation to go. At least, until Ben apparently told them that Bogo wanted them there. Nick had wanted to refuse again, but the go-getter bunny didn’t want to piss the chief off. As a fox who’d dealt with a pissed off ‘boss’ before. . . Yeah, he understood her point.

It was sad, considering that was supposed to be on their day off. However, the buffalo apparently didn’t care, and wanted them there as the ‘Saviours of Zootopia’. Nick was pretty sure he was an afterthought in that scenario and didn’t actually ‘have’ to come. . . That was Judy’s title, not his. However, if Judy was going to be going, he might as well go with her. Sitting at home alone sounded boring.

But Nick wasn’t going to be the happiest fox, that was for sure. The idea of the fundraiser was stupid, honestly. Not helping the homeless part, that was fair. But what was going on behind the scenes was. Basically, they were putting on a big wining, dining, and dancing thing, with a silent auction on the side to raise funds to donate to the local homeless shelters. All of the city’s ‘elite’ were invited, with their big fat wallets in tow in the hopes of getting some big donations.

Now, the annoying part to Nick was the fact that the Police Union was not going to donate so much as a red cent on their part. Maybe a few thousand, or something, but nowhere near what the rich people would be throwing down that night. Which, again, the rich people were just being rich people, the typical nuisances they were as they threw around what would be pennies to them, and call it charity.

But the Police Union would be the ones getting the news. They did the fundraiser, they’d be the ones getting the big rebate after donating all the funds raised, and they would get lavished by the public for doing this, on what would maybe be the third page of a newspaper. Maybe second, if they were lucky. It was a great way to show to the population that you ‘cared’ about the problems of the city.

Meanwhile, the price of any one of those police cars out there would pay for a homeless person’s rent for months. Maybe years, or decades if it was a mouse. . . Not that it was the ZPD’s fault, specifically. The ZPD, and especially Nick and Judy, were being used by the Union to look good. That way, the Union members would pull in a bigger ‘profit’ at the end of the year. The fact a union was trying to make a profit still disturbed him. . . That didn’t seem ‘union-y’ to him.

“Well, it’s nearly the anniversary of the Nighthowler disappearances, so, I imagine they want to drum up some sympathy there. And I’m sure there’s a lot of rich medium and smaller prey and predators that they might want to curry favour with.” Judy responded from behind him, as she carefully chopped the vegetables for dinner. He could practically hear her shrug, dismissing his confusion with reality.

That sounded about right to Nick. It wasn’t like the Union was doing anything ‘wrong’ by doing this. It was like any other corporation did, really. The only reason the supermarkets asked you to donate for this cause or the other cause at their tills was because they received a tax cut when they later went and donated all that money ‘on your behalf’.

You end up feeling good with your two dollars, they feel good for using thousands of customers goodwill as a tax break. As scam-y as it sounded, it was well within the law. It was just ‘good’ business, after all. It was stuff like that that made him wonder who the real crooks were when he was still on the street, him, or them. Definitely, still him, he was breaking laws. But the worse thing was they _weren’t_ breaking laws to do that.

Nick sighed, as he shifted down the counter slightly. “Mhm. If Bogo wants me to rub elbows with rich snobs, then fine, I’ll rub elbows with rich snobs. But shouldn’t that mean we get a week off, or something?” Nick mocked, as he opened one of the lower cupboards in search of the bowl. It had to be around here somewhere. He remembered washing it once, recently.

Judy laughed, as she chewed on a piece of cut celery. “I think we’re out of luck for that, Nick. . . But hey, we get a free night out on the ZPD, that’s good, right? We’ll be given the same food they’re serving the guests. . . . I think, anyway. There will be drinks and appetizers at least. And during the whole silent auction thing, we can do whatever we want, too. I’m sure they’ll set up a dance floor or something, and have some music playing.”

Nick snorted. “Probably some snooty classical music. . .” He muttered as she laughed. Where could the damn bowl be. . . “Carrots, do you know where the big mixing bowl is?” The fox asked, as he finally gave up on his solo search. It was in here somewhere, he knew it. But he was either not looking in the right place, or he was being dumb and completely missing it.

Either option was highly possible. Judy looked away from her chopping for a moment and gestured over at the cupboard in the far corner. “It should be in there, dumb fox.” She responded cheerily. “As for music, you never know. There are a few young rich mammals nowadays, they’re not all ‘regal’, you know.”

Nick didn’t know if that was going to be true. Sure, there were younger rich mammals. However, would they bother coming to such an event? It was kind of an ‘old mammal’ type of thing. Either way, the gurgle in his stomach was telling him it was time to cook food, not debate on the musical tastes of rich people. He moved over to the cupboard she indicated, one that he didn’t remember looking in.

Maybe he did. Maybe he didn’t. It was hard to know when he’d spent the last 5 minutes looking in a lot of cupboards. But the moment he popped it open, the large blue bowl was staring him right in the face. So, he was either really blind, or he’d missed the cupboard. . . He shook his head, as he pulled out the bowl and set it on the counter above him.

He rarely looked in this cupboard, what did they even keep in there? Nick looked inside and instantly knew why he rarely went in it. There was a blender, a rice cooker, and a few other ‘extra’ appliances that they didn’t want to clutter up the kitchen counter. After all, it was only so big for the two mammals to work in together, they didn’t want to limit their space.

There was also a food processer, an extra toaster, and a. . . hotplate? Nick’s eyes narrowed as he looked at the contraption in confusion. That was definitely what the appliance was, but that wasn’t _his_ hotplate. It looked new and unused. Wait, then where was his hotplate? He hadn’t seen it since he moved in. . . Granted, he hadn’t needed it either, but it wasn’t in the boxes when he unpacked. And if it wasn’t in the cupboards, where was it?

Maybe Judy knew? “Do you know where my hotplate is?” He asked as he looked around in the cupboard again. Did he miss it, was it in the far back or something? No, it wasn’t in there. . .

“Oh. . . That.” Judy responded as she turned to face him. He glanced over at her, squinting at the rabbit curiously. That didn’t sound very promising. . . Did she- “I threw it out a while ago. I bought that new one in there for you, to replace it. . . You know that dingy thing was a fire hazard, Nick.”

Nick’s ear fell down, as he heard those painful words. She. . . Threw it out? It was actually gone now? “Oh. . .” He murmured, as he looked away from the rabbit. “That’s. . . kind of depressing, honestly. I really liked that hotplate.” That was a little bit of an understatement, although it wasn’t the appliance itself that made it upsetting.

Judy’s ear cocked to the side in confusion, as she tilted her head curiously. Yeah, she probably didn’t get it, did she? “What was so special about that hot plate, Nick?” She responded as she took a step towards the fox. “It just looked like an old, cheap, broken hotplate.” 

Yeah, that was true. It was every bit of what she said. But the memories it was connected to were so much more to Nick. And now it was gone. . . It wasn’t that bad, was it? “It’s not a big deal. . . After I. . . _Moved_ , out of my mother’s house, we didn’t see each other for a while. I was always too busy, and we just, never really ran into each other. . . But, the next time I saw her, she gave me that hotplate. Wanted to make sure I had something to cook with, and that I was staying healthy. It kind of just. . . Hung around after that. . . It was the first cooking thing I ever had.”

It wasn’t like it was the most important object in the world to Nick. Nothing was if he was honest, except maybe that pawkerchief. He wasn’t a materialistic kind of fox. But he could never bring himself to throw it away, himself. It was like throwing the memories away, to Nick.

He left home when he was young, and for a long time, he didn’t see his mother at all. They didn’t exactly leave on the greatest of terms. . . The rebellious kid, running ‘scams’ ever since he was twelve years old. But then, the first time he did meet his mother, all she did was talk about how she missed him and gave him that hotplate. And some money, some simple recipes. But that was beside the point. It was. . . Not how Nick had expected that interaction to go.

She didn’t try and drag him home. Didn’t scold him. Didn’t do anything, but give him money and a hotplate and tell him that she missed having him around the house. And to come to visit whenever he could. The hotheaded kid he was back then took that conversation for granted, but looking back on it made him appreciate his mother so much. For just letting him figure himself out on his own.

Granted, there was also the fact that if she had done other things, dragged him home, maybe he wouldn’t have committed minor felonies for twenty years. . . But he didn’t want to think about that. The way things turned out, with this bunny in their shared kitchen, it wasn’t too bad. And. . . Those memories would still exist, hotplate or no. He shook his head and stood up as he slowly closed the cupboard doors.

And then, he felt that soft paw reach out and grasp his forearm. Judy stared up at him, holding a sad expression on her face as she squeezed his arm gently. “I’m sorry, Nick. . . I didn’t know it meant so much to you. . . I shouldn’t have thrown it out without permission.” She murmured softly, as Nick stared down at her with surprise. Yeah, she was right about that. . . But, it wasn’t that big of a deal, as Nick smiled and shook his head. It was just an appliance.

But, she stared back at him, with a heartbreaking expression. Was she really that sad about it? “It’s okay. It’s just a hotplate. I still have the memories.” He responded, a little joviality injected in the hopes of cheering the sad bunny up. “Mostly memories of a lot of poorly cooked meals, honestly. For the first few years, my cooking could barely be considered edible.” When he finally got around to learning to cook properly, that’s when the hotplate began its slow descent into failure. . . Kind of ironic, now that he had a real kitchen to cook in.

But the rabbit shook her head forlornly. “Still, it mattered to you, and I threw it out without considering your feelings. . .”. . . And I’m also sorry for something else, Nick. . .” She murmured, as she turned her gaze to the ground. “You know. . . The day that we first met, at the ice cream shop?” She murmured, as she retracted her paw and crossed her arms shyly.

What. . . Was going on here? She looked even sadder than before. What else was she sorry about, let alone with the ice cream shop? Where he scammed her? “Yeah, I do remember. . .. You were dressed in your adorable safety vest, with that little ‘meter maid’ cap on. Why?” He asked, trying to interject a happy flirt as he cocked his head to the side. His flirts usually made her feel a little better, right?

However, instantly he knew it hadn’t worked. The rabbit uncrossed her arms, darting forward with a thump as she threw herself into his chest. She wrapped her paws around his slim body, burrowing her face into his shirt. She hugged him tightly, as the fox’s arms instinctively splayed outward while he stared down toward the bunny in surprise. “C-carrots?” He choked out, as he heard soft sniffles emanating from the rabbit against his chest.

“I’m sorry. . . I never told you about this, but. . . The _reason_ I w-went into the shop is because I saw you outside, a-and. . . .” She began, and Nick felt his heart drop as he realized where this was going. “. . . I went inside because I thought you looked. . . . s-suspicious. . .” She sniffled, as Nick saw her tears staining his shirt.

His eyes narrowed, as he nodded sadly. Yeah. . . Nick had kind of guessed that was the reason she was in the ice cream shop, all the way back then. . . Between the fox repellant on her belt, and the fact she didn’t get in line when she came in kind of. . . _suggested_ that reality. Even the way she talked about how she disliked people with ‘backwards feelings’ sounded weird to him.

“Yeah, I figured that. . . But it’s okay, fluff. . . We’ve all made bad choices. And, I mean, you weren’t _technically_ wrong that time. . . I did swindle you outta twenty bucks.” He added, as he carefully patted the rabbit on the shoulder.

That particular bit of their relationship hadn’t bothered him at the time, let alone now almost a year later. The apology under the bridge kind of covered that, for the fox. . . It covered a lot of things that she’d done. But the rabbit shook her head into his chest, as the tears continued to flow. “That’s not enough to excuse it, Nick. . . I-I was no better than that wolf. . . I saw a fox, and I judged you on that fact alone. . . . Whether I was right or wrong doesn’t matter, I did the _same_ thing he did to you.”

 _Oh_ , that was where the connection was. . . Was that why talking about Wolfsei caused her to be that sad earlier? Because. . . She felt like she was the same, as the wolf? He, carefully, wrapped his paws around her shoulder, as he hugged her in return. That was the correct move, right? Hugging back? “Dumb bunny. . . You’re nothing like him, trust me, fluff . . .” He murmured, as he held her in the hug loosely. No, the rabbit was not at all like the wolf. If she were, he’d have been arrested by her before he’d ever had the chance to swindle her out of the $20.

However, the rabbit sniffled again and shook her head. “Nick. . . I lost you for three months, because of what I did. What I _was_ doing. . . For three months, I saw you dart into an alley every time I saw you on the street, and I knew that I _deserved_ it, for hurting you. . .” She mumbled through the fabric and fur, as Nick’s ears stood at alert. Wait. . . She saw him avoiding her? He thought she’d. . . She’d never let on, not one time. . . “I actually thought I was somehow a good person back then, and I hurt you, so, so much. . . I was so damn naïve, and dumb. . .”

She continued holding onto him tightly, as he wrapped his arms more properly around her. He carefully rested his chin upon her head, as he hugged her back. She was. . . Bringing up a lot of old feelings. . . But maybe it was good to deal with it. Before he could figure out how to reply, the rabbit continued. “I’m so scared I’ll fuck up again, and lose you, Nick. . . I don’t want to see you look at me like you looked at that wolf. I’ve grown so close to you, and you’re so special to me now. . .”

Wait. . . Did. . . She mean. . . ? His heart was fluttering, unsure of how to. . . Respond. Was this her way of- “You’re my _best friend_ , Nick. . .” She murmured, as Nick felt the metaphorical dagger stab into his beating heart. Oh. . . Yeah. . . His ears flipped down, as he chastised himself for letting his thoughts get carried away.

With a slight frown, he patted her back gently. “It’s okay, Carrots. . . I’m here now, and I’m not going anywhere.” He spoke softly, as the rabbit squeezed him even harder. Oh god, he was going to need to get out of this hug soon, or she was probably going to notice. . . _that_. She was squeezing more than stuffing out of him at this point, as she pressed her body against him. “But. . . That reminds me. . . Do I still owe you $20, for that?”

That comment made the rabbit laugh between sniffles, as she pulled her head away and wiped the tears from her face. She relaxed her grip on the fox, as she let some air finally pass between their bodies. Thankfully. . . “You don’t owe me anything, Nick. . . I owe you a lot more than that, for putting up with my mistakes. . . I’m really sorry Nick, for every time I’ve made you feel like that.” She spoke between small sniffles, as she began to calm down.

Now the fox could finally start calming down, too. Nick snorted, as he leaned further out of the hug, intentionally shifting his lower body away from the rabbit. “Well, thanks for the apology. But, I don’t know about you, but I’m _not_ sorry about those mistakes now. . . As much as a pain in the butt you are. . . I’m glad that we met, and I wouldn’t change it for anything.” He murmured, as he looked down into her still-teary eyes.

A small smile spread on her face, as she gave him a light punch. They took a half-step back from one another, her one paw still clinging to his waist. . . Eh, at least that was better than her whole body. He retracted his paws, and let them hang loosely at his sides. “Thanks, Nick. . . I’m really glad we met, too. . . Although I’m still sorry for the mistakes I’ve made to get here. . . I can’t imagine not having you as my friend.” She responded, as she once again wiped away the remnants of her tears.

Meanwhile, Nick was busy trying to deal with the second turn of the knife. Friend. . . Yeah. . . That’s what they were always going to be, and he needed to accept that. There was never any reason to hope for something more. His ears twitched, as he smiled and nodded. “Me too, Judy.”

She snorted, as the last of her paws fell from his waist, and the hug finally ‘officially’ ended. That meant he could relax, and they could get back to cooking, right? But before Nick could take a breath, Judy suddenly reached up and stroke the end of his muzzle softly. His eyes widened, as his ears flicked up in surprise. What was she. . .

“Nick. . . Are you. . . _intentionally_ growing out your whiskers?” She asked as she stroked the lengthening whiskers gently. Nick, on the other paw, just stared back perplexed. If she wanted to comment on his whiskers, why wouldn’t she just. . . Say it? Why did she decide to touch him. . . And stroke his muzzle. . . ?

Was this some sort of rabbit thing, the touchiness? It could be, and it would explain how she could say they were ‘just friends’ in one sentence and start fondling his muzzle the next. Let alone every other time she got close to him, like the hugging, the nose booping, and all that jazz. Judy never seemed to have a problem with reaching out and touching him, as if it was some kind of game. Foxes definitely weren’t like that outside of their close family and significant others.

This kind of touching would even be weird with close friends, or family at times. But. . . Nick nodded slightly, as she finally lowered her paw from his face. “Yeah. . . Well, I started letting it grow out, anyway. I haven’t decided if I’m going to keep it or not. . . Why?” He asked, cocking his head to the side curiously. Did. . . She have a reason for the random subject change?

Judy shrugged, as she turned and walked back over to the chopping board. “Well, you should look good for the fundraiser next week, Nick. You can either let it grow out for the week or shave it before the fundraiser. You’re not going to want just stubble, it won’t look very professional in your uniform. . . Just my opinion, but I think you should let them grow out. I think you’ll look good with long whiskers.” She muttered, as she instantly went back to cutting vegetables for the meal. . . What was that?

For one,, he was definitely going to let them grow now. . . But what did she mean about wearing his uniform to the fundraiser? Nick assumed he’d be wearing a nice suit or something. Didn’t their uniforms look kind of ‘pedestrian’ for a fundraiser, especially her fur-tight blue suit and armour? Wait. . . By ‘uniform’, did she mean the fancy one? “We have to wear our. . . what’s it called. . . Class ‘A’ uniforms? Like, the ones with the dumb gold braid thing?” All that fancy stuff was still in a box underneath his bed, he hadn’t taken any of that ‘accoutrement’ out since his graduation.

“Yeah? What else did you think we’d wear? We’re there as representatives of the ZPD, and we’re going to want to look good, too.” She responded, looking over her shoulder and shaking her head at him. “Dumb fox.”

“Oh. Well, fuck.”

* * *

Weaselton was a scrounger. He never wanted to let a good thing go to waste. And most mammals in Zootopia always let something good go to waste. The dumpsters of Zootopia’s alleys were always full of valuable items, that he could either sell off or keep for himself. The rich, self-absorbed bastards threw out the best stuff, for no reason sometimes.

He shook his head as he walked down the street with his bag of loot. The weasel reached in and pulled out the little crystal bottle. He let out a chuckle, as he read the label. For example, someone actually threw out this near-full bottle of expensive cologne, for no reason.

Or was it perfume? Was cologne the same thing as perfume? Nah, it didn’t matter, it said cologne on it. The name was pretty exotic, the weasel wasn’t even going to bother trying to read it. But that meant it was expensive, probably at least $200 a bottle. Anyway, it smelled pretty good to Weaselton, and he certainly couldn’t leave it behind it considering the chops its slogan had.

‘Attracts all types of prey mammals’. Now that’s a cologne he could get behind. He lifted it up and sprayed a little more on his neck. It was 'females night' at a few bars downtown.

If his luck held out, maybe he’d find a new shirt in the next set of dumpsters. . . That’d be just the ticket.  
And hey, why not get a little adventurous with a prey mammal? He normally didn’t go for that kind of thing, but with this, why not? ‘Try everything, pay for nothing’ was his motto, and he lived for it. He’d had a rough couple of months, ‘fun-wise’ but tonight was going to be Duke’s lucky night. With this cologne, he was guaranteed to have a good time.

He looked at it again, frowning slightly. There was a lot left in the bottle. . . Weaselton lifted it back up and held it against his neck. Another few squirts couldn’t hurt his chances, right?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well. . . Things are starting to. . . 'heat up', between the two, I think. Also, Whisker'd Nick is totally unrepresented in fanart. SMH
> 
> Meanwhile, I seem to keep throwing Nick's garbage at random Zootopian citizens. Man is he in for a surprise when he goes to that bar. I am returning to University at the end of this month, so, I'm not sure when the next chapter will be out. But. . . I've already got the entire thing plotted in my head, so there's reason for hope.
> 
> NOTE: The homeless stories I mentioned in this chapter are based on real homeless people that I have met through volunteering in my city. These are real people, with problems they cannot fix on their own. If anyone is interested, look up the Housing First Initiative, which a Canadian city (Medicine Hat) used to nearly eliminate homelessness from the city, by providing them housing for free so that they could get back on their feet.
> 
> Regarding the Deterrence Model, I read an interesting study about the effects of it, done in Florida. The study was detailed, comprehensive, and proved that the deterrence model is absolute trash, and has a negative impact on recidivism (The recommittal of crime). People sentenced for probation (released into the community, not 'formally' punished) were WAY less likely to recommit (about 20% likely to recidivate) an offence than people sentenced (for the same crime. The study was astounded it was possible to compare directly across, WTH Florida?) to incarceration (About 52% likely to recidivate). It LITERALLY does not work to increase the punishment of crimes. The states aren't the only government guilty of this, as Canada recently had a PM that was absolutely obsessed with opening and funding prisons based upon the belief that 'Harder on Crime' methods worked. Thank you for nothing, Stephen Harper.


	12. Reason

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>   
> _"The average human is about twenty percent furry. Far as we're concerned, that's a little low. So, if you feel a bit UWU in this next chapter, that's normal. We're gonna hit you with some good furry fanfiction, and see if we can't get you up to sixty or seventy percent."_  
>  -Furry Johnson
> 
> Wouldn't you know it? Black Lives Still Matter. BIPOC Lives Matter LGBTQIA2+ Rights and Lives Matter. Woke up to a tag supporting JK Dumbling being taken over by Kpop stans. I don't know what it is about 2020, how in all this darkness something like that can make me smile so much. It doesn't help the cause, doesn't change the opinions of the people who take that shit seriously. But still. It's something to smile at, and that's few and far between now. I also woke up to someone promoting the Cessession of Alberta. Uh. No. Irrevocably no. And keep that broke ass John Alcoholic MacDonald statue away, Jesus. Replace all his statues with Tommy Douglas. Now there's a Canadian to admire.
> 
> Again history 'erasure' isn't the same as destroying statues. History erasure is ignoring the fact that the only reason the Confederacy existed was that they wanted to enforce slavery. It isn't about 'states rights'. Never was. As for statutes, ain't no statues of Hitler in Germany. There is a great difference between remembering the person, the history, the situation, and glorifying them with a statue.
> 
> The Justice Model. This one is fairly simple, it punishes people based solely upon the crime they committed, and not the potential crimes they may commit in the future. Its intention is to make all punishment equal so that no matter the person they receive the 'equivalent' punishment for the crime that they committed. The good news is, it does advocate alternative sanctions, short sentences, and the concept of full legal guilt. However. . . The idea of treating everyone the same creates some problems.
> 
> And now, we continue the story (because I just hadda. I'm sorry other stories, you got put on the shelf for a sec). Thank you BrutusDeagon for the inspiration for a part of this chapter, it was really fun to write that out. Now, Judy continues to 'patiently' wait, while Nick is dealing with a few confidence issues still. . . This chapter should be a fun one for everyone, hopefully.
> 
> Disney owns it. You know. It. The it. The thing it.

The caracal stared across the room at the fox, seated nearby. The tired look on her face said it all, rolling her eyes. She sighed, reached up and delicately plucked her glasses off, gently rubbing a lens with the corner of her shirt. The therapist shook her head and replaced the glasses on her muzzle.

“Mr. Wilde. . . You do understand that I am a _certified_ mental health therapist, on retainer with the ZPD, correct?” Caroline Lamentsky muttered, glared at the fox seated opposite of her in the small little office.

The Therapist’s Office, in the ZPD precinct, to be exact. Nick nodded, cautiously. “Yes?” He replied, confused as to why she was this upset.

Her eyes narrowed. “As in, I am _not_ here to be your relationship guru, or whatever with this _mysterious_ mammal that you’ve got a crush on. I am not here for relationship advice. You do understand that don’t you? That I’m supposed to help with stressors related to your workplace environment and tasks? Like, if you got into a physical altercation or an active shooting or something?” She chastised him, glaring heavily. He knew that. But, technically, this did count as a ‘job’ stressor, considering it was Judy. The therapist didn’t know about that little ‘detail’, though.

As a benefit to being an officer, Nick was allowed one ‘free’ visit a month with the therapist the ZPD had hired. Judy always encouraged him to use the resources available to him at the ZPD, so he often found himself in this room at least once every month. Judy always came in for a check-up once a month, claiming it was always good to get any issues you had off your chest with someone. 

Which is what he was trying to do here by talking about Judy, and he was unsure why the caracal was reacting this way. It wasn’t the first time they’d brought up the topic, and she’d never reacted like this before. . . Why did she have a problem now? “Yeah, but this is what we do every time we have an appointment. We always talk about. . . My. . . personal issues.”

Caroline snorted, scribbling a note down on the pad in front of her. “No, I do my best to get you to open up and talk about your work-related stress. _You_ always end up diverting the subject as quickly as possible, lamenting about your ‘unrequited’ feelings.” She muttered as Nick narrowed his eyes. That was. . . condescending to his issues, to be honest.

“Hey, you’ve never complained about it before, what’s the big deal this time? And I’m sorry, isn’t this my thirty minutes, can’t I decide what to talk about? Why didn’t you ever stop me from talking about it before?” He clapped back, as the caracal sat there completely unaffected by his words.

For a moment, she stared back, before giving a slight nod. “I’ll admit, I’m a fan of hearing gossip -confidentially-, but mainly I had hoped that letting you go through this diversion a few times might lead you to open up more to me. Maybe get you to talk more about what’s going in inside you, not just your waning heart.” She replied curtly.

It was Nick’s turn to snort, as his head bobbed back in disbelief. “Well, maybe if you actually _helped_ with my problem, maybe I would be willing to open up to you more.” That was a lie. Nick wasn’t a fan of opening up to anyone, therapist, or no. It’s why he usually diverted the subject, as fast as he could. And admittedly, he was very willing to abuse the ‘confidentiality’ to try and talk about. . . Judy. Any help was helpful, right?

But the reply seemed to interest the caracal, as she slowly nodded. “Alright, I’ll bite. I’ll play the game, give you some advice if possible, and we’ll see if we can’t solve your ‘issues’. Off the record, of course. I'm not qualified as a 'relationship guru', after all. What’s on your mind with ‘her’ lately?” She asked, crossing her arms as she stared back at the fox.

Nick, hunched and resting his elbows on his legs, looked back with light surprise. He didn’t really. . . expect this. Most of the time she just listened to him talk about it for a while. . . Was she truly going to help? “Uh. . . Well. . . I’m just, still trying to figure out what I should do about how I feel about her. Or if I should do nothing, and just forget it.”

A loud sigh escaped the caracal, shaking her head. “So, same shit, different day then. Well, has he anything _new_ happened on that front as of late?” The cat asked as she placed her paws together on her lap.

That was a good question. . . Had anything new really happened with Judy, as of late? Well, there was that hug last week, and the whole pointed ‘you’re my _best_ friend’ part. . . And the touching that happened, but the touching wasn’t anything new really. . . Still. “Last week, she apologized to me, for something she did wrong a long time ago. She hugged me really tightly, but then told me that I was her best friend.” He murmured, depressingly. If the fox was smart, he imagined he’d have dropped this crush by now. Especially after that.

“Well, congratulations are in order then, I guess.” She responded, nodding to Nick with a light smile. Was she. . . Mocking him? Nick frowned at her, shaking his head.

“What do you mean, congratulations? I’m just her friend, that’s not really something to be happy about.” He replied angrily, right before his brain clocked what an ass of a statement he’d just made. He didn’t. . . Hate the fact they were friends, did he? No, that wasn’t it. . . That wasn’t how he meant it.

“Did she actually say you’re ‘just’ my friend, or are you putting words in her mouth? Because if not, then I don’t see what you’re so worked up about. . . Being her close friend doesn’t mean she immediately isn’t interested in you, y’know?” Caroline retorted, bluntly, causing Nicks ears to twitch up. That. . . No. . . She hadn’t said ‘just friends’, had she?

That was a good point. . . “Did anything more happen that you want to add, or should we just run over what you’ve told me for the past few months?” She asked, seemingly unamused by the fox’s conduct so far.

Well. . . There was the other thing that happened late last week. While on night duty, they were called to an incident in a bar involving a weasel. He had apparently made several mammals very uncomfortable and was starting to pick fights with a few others when they tried to forcibly remove them.

To their surprise when they arrived, it was none other than Duke Weaselton, who was not happy to see them at all. However, Nick and Judy still tried to talk him into leaving the business quietly, and without causing a fuss.

That didn’t go well, of course. Nick and Judy did their best to remove him and succeeded in the end after a hard struggle. Weasels were horrible to try and control, they flopped everywhere and twisted in ungodly directions.

However, it was what happened with Judy afterwards that was interesting, and he wasn’t sure what to make of it. Despite their success in restraining him, Nick ended up pulling a few muscles in his neck and upper back, from all the flipping and twisting he did to try and contain the weasel.

After work, it was still bothering him very badly. So, the rabbit conned him into laying down on the couch and letting her try and work the knots out of his back and neck. By ‘conned’, she asked, and he obeyed. . . He was weak. He hadn’t been sure about it, but he could never say no to the rabbit when she pressed so hard to help him.

Which was probably why he listened to her when she told him to take off his shirt, too. What had followed was about an hour of bliss as she worked her paws over his muscles gently. At some point, Nick thought she might’ve been walking on him, but his face was way too buried into the cushion to check when he felt that delightful pressure on the sprained muscles. She was. . . Really good at it, he had to admit. Unfortunately, his face wasn’t the only thing pressed into the cushions, and by the time they were done he decided not to roll over for a while.

He claimed that he wanted to just lay there and relax in bliss, and the rabbit seemed to buy it as she sat down carefully on his back, teasing the fox as she turned the TV on so they could watch something together.

She asked him if he enjoyed it, to which he emphatically thanked her for the help. As if his wagging tail hadn’t been evidence enough. His neck felt better, as well as the muscles in his back. Let alone the pure bliss she’d gotten from it.

And then. . . She told him that she expected him to do the same, and give her a massage if she ended up sore one day. . .

Now, Nick was probably looking too far into that comment, it was just friendly reciprocity after all. But the way she said it. . . And the idea of laying his paws on her both excited and scared him. . . Did that mean she’d take her shirt off, too?

The caracal chuckled, the fox jerking his head as he was pulled back into reality. She was grinning back at him, as her brows raised slightly. “Well?”

Nick shook his head. “Nothing I can think of, right now. . .” He lied, as he tucked that thought away. That thought was for. . . Sometime later. Plus, he didn’t want to run the risk of revealing who the ‘her’ was to the therapist. If she knew they lived together, it wouldn’t take too much to find out that it was his partner.

While Nick knew that she had confidentiality laws, he also knew that she worked for the police force. And, technically, if she thought there was something that could endanger ‘policing values’, she could contact his superior about it. That superior was Judy. . . Or worse, higher than that. And the effects of that could be. . . very, very bad. He kind of skimmed the guidelines back in school, he didn’t remember a lot of it.

He did his best to avoid talking about anything that might reveal who he was talking about. He didn’t tell the therapist they lived together, where she worked, or how much they saw each other daily. Nor did she know what species that she was, beyond the fact that she was a prey mammal. . . That part was at least essential to the discussion.

The therapist sighed, as she glanced down towards the base of his chair for a moment. “Well, I’ll just pretend _that_ means nothing then. . .” She murmured, as Nick looked down and immediately regretted thinking about the massage. Spirits, he was so. . . horny. He looked back up and frowned at the therapist. While he let one paw drift down to cover himself. . .

Listen, the idea of rubbing a half-naked Judy with his paws was something, alright? However, before Nick could respond in defence, the therapist decided to gloss right over her call out, as she glanced at her watch. “We’ve only got ten minutes left, so how about we just get straight to it. What’s stopping you from just asking her out on a date, hmm?” She asked point-blank, as Nick felt his heart sink. That. . . was a loaded question.

“Because. . .” He murmured, shaking his head softly. “I don’t want to lose her.” That was the shortest answer, right?

The therapist nodded slowly. “If she rejected you, would you be willing to stay as her friend?”

A dumb question, as Nick shook his head. “Yes, of course, I would. But I don’t know how she’d react to being asked. . . I mean, she is a rab-, uh, a prey mammal.” He muttered as he stared down at the table. It was the biggest problem, wasn’t it? How weird would it be, as a rabbit, to have a fox pining after you. . . Their species were literally enemies historically. Not that the rabbit cared about that history, nor the fox obviously. The only ‘eating’ he wanted to do was-

He was in the middle of a therapy session, what the fuck. His brain needed to calm its fucking shit.

“So what? Listen, I don’t think you are giving. . . Whoever she is. . . enough credit. If you are willing to date a different species, why aren’t you willing to consider the fact that she could be just as willing as you? And the same goes for if you get rejected. If you’re _somehow_ capable of still being friends with her afterwards, why do you assume she can’t do the same? You’re her close friend, so she’s willing to put up with you, a lot. And quite frankly, she’d probably be flattered to know she’s started attracting other species.” The therapist responded, as she set her notebook down and leaned forward, palms towards him in a curious shrug.

“That’s. . . Assuming a lot.” He responded as the therapist cackled at him as she rolled her eyes. Nick narrowed his eyes, confused why she wouldn’t take his concerns seriously. He couldn’t just assume that everything was going to be okay, he wasn’t a fool.

“And so are you, Mr. Wilde. In fact, you’re the one that’s started this ‘assumption’ problem. Listen, you wanted my advice, didn’t you?” Caroline spoke sternly, the fox nodding along slowly. “Well then, answer this question: Is there any legitimate _reason_ that you can’t just ask her out on a coffee date?”

Nick opened his mouth to respond, but nothing came out as he thought about asking her. . . It was Judy, she wouldn’t be angry at him for asking her out. . . Sure, she might say no, but. . . Maybe she’d say yes? While he pondered, the therapist continued. “It’s low committal, and it tests the waters to see if she’s interested. I’m not saying ask her to marry you or confess that you dream of her at night or whatever. Just say ‘hey, I like you a lot, would you like to get some coffee someday’ or something.”

Yeah. . . Caroline was starting to make sense. But, at the same time. . . He sighed. “Listen, you can either do nothing and continue to talk to me about it every month. Or, you can make that step, and ask her out. In the former, you’re never going to know what’s possible or not, and you'll have to live with that. In the latter, you’ve got a fair shot. And at the very least, maybe you’ll get some more confidence. It’s not the dark ages anymore, interspecies dating is normal. . . Why not try?”

He knew the whole point of a therapist was having them talk things through with you, work on your problems, and help get you to move on. But for some reason, the idea of stepping past his insecurity on this seemed scarier than living in it forever. And. . . There was the other glaring reason. . . He wasn’t just a fox; he was Nicholas Wilde. . . He shook his head. “She’s not going to want to be with me. . . She deserves better.” He mumbled the insecurity aloud, as his heart sunk further down into his stomach.

The therapist looked at him cautiously, as he gazed at the ground. “Is that really you talking, Mr. Wilde. . . Or your ex-girlfriend?” She spoke gently, as Nick's head flicked back up to stare into her eyes. “The one we talked about before, briefly? . . . The one who abused you?” Nick knew he’d regret mentioning her, so many sessions ago.

He held her gaze, eyes filled with anguish as he remembered Veronica, the arctic fox. . . The monster. She’d never been physically abusive to Nick, but. . . Mentally, she abused him every day, and every week. He shuddered, remembering the way she’d talk to him, and about him to her friends. The times she made him feel insecure and ripped him down with insults.

She would cheat on him and then tell him that it was all his fault. He wasn’t doing good enough. He needed to change. And he would believe her. He would believe her when she’d tell him he was a worthless boyfriend, and a worthless fox, because she knew how to manipulate his anxieties to get whatever she wanted.

They were together for a few years, a while back, and. . . He’d never really dated again after that. The caracal saw what was happening and nodded silently. “Your ex does not determine your worth, you do. And whoever this ‘her’ is that you like, has already deemed you to be worth a whole lot more than your ex ever did. . . Whose opinion matters more to you, your ex, or your friend?” She continued, as Nick sat there in silence.

Each word hit hard, but they were getting through. They all made sense. . . It was still hard. However, her last question was very simple, as he gave a curt nod. “My friend’s opinion matters more. . .” Judy’s opinion would always matter the most to him. . . Heh, the therapist was better at this than he thought. . .

The therapist nodded. “. . . Do you want to talk about your ex some more? It might help to get some things out, now that we’re talking about it. . . It might help you, to work through your feelings there.” She continued, softly. They’d maybe talked about it for half a session before, but Nick had quickly shifted even that discussion over to his problems with Judy. . . Which, looking at it now, seemed like mostly self-made problems, not real ones.

“Yeah. . . mayb-“ He started before the smartwatch on the therapist’s arm began to buzz. Her other paw flew over, immediately muting the alarm as she picked up her notepad. “Ah. . . Time’s up?” Nick murmured, as the caracal rapidly shook her head, glancing at her watch again.

“I, uh, have about 10 minutes until my next client shows up, it’s fine. I want to explore this with you more if you have time.” She murmured, slightly stressed, as she held a pen to the notepad eagerly.

Heh, she really wanted to get into Nick’s head, didn’t she? But, as Nick looked up at the clock in the corner, he shook his head softly. As good as it would be to talk about it, he had someone else to meet. Judy was waiting in the gym, and he didn’t want to miss the sight of the rabbit in sweatpants.

Of all the benefits that the ZPD officers got, the access to the free gym was one of Nick’s favourite. Not because he liked working out, he hated that shit. But he certainly liked watching Judy exercise. . . And he didn’t want her to tire herself out before he got there. “I. . . have to go, unfortunately. I’ve got somewhere I need to be. Another appointment” He spoke carefully, as he turned back to the unimpressed caracal. He shrugged, with a nervous grin. “Sorry. . . We can talk about it more next month, maybe?” It might be good to talk about Veronica. . .

She sighed, as she rolled her eyes. “Alright, fine. . . But I’m putting a pin in that, you hear me? We are starting the next session with that. . . And feel free to schedule me again this month, too. I can clear an extra session with the benefits division.” She added as Nick rose from the seat.

Admittedly, he got some joy from ruining the therapist's hopes with that. . . But the main reason was he couldn’t miss Judy in the gym. They had the whole ‘fundraiser’ thing tomorrow, so they weren’t going to go too long. But still, he’d make sure things were. . . Fairly ‘secured’, in his underwear. It was going to be one of those days, for sure.

He’d already made that mistake before, forced to carry a cleaning towel by his crotch the entire time. “Thanks for the talk, though. . . You made some good points.” He murmured, nodding as he thought about the way Judy cared about him. . . If there was one thing Judy did very well, it was making him feel like he was worth something. . . He needed to lean into her support more.

“Regarding your ‘friend’. . . If you catch yourself assuming things again, or doubting yourself, I have a suggestion. . . Start asking yourself if you have a reason to feel that way. If you have a reason not to talk to her about it and all that stuff. . . All your doing is finding out if she’s interested or not, you’re not trying to marry her. Hopefully.” She added as Nick nodded, as she rose from her seat and walked over to her desk. She didn’t sound terribly impressed.

Nick walked to the door and shook his head. “I’ll remember that, but. . . I. . . Don’t know how soon I’m going to do it yet, it might not be the right time. . . You might be right, maybe I’d better work through my ex’s stuff first, hmm?” He responded with a shrug. She nodded, as she sat down at her desk.

“Fair enough. But consider telling her sooner than later, at least that you like her. I’m sure she’d appreciate it. . . Call me tomorrow and we can make your next appointment then, okay?” She muttered as the fox opened the door.

“Yep. See ya next time, doc.” He gave a light wave, as he stepped through the entryway and closed it behind him. He could hear her mumble something about not being a doctor through the door, as Nick smiled. It would probably be good to talk more about Veronica. . . She’d been living rent-free in the back of his mind for way too long now.

But that was for another time. He began to walk quickly in the direction of the locker room, as he smiled. He wondered what she decided to wear today. . . Yoga pants? Shorts? it didn’t matter. She’d still be a sexy bunny, no matter what she wore. Or didn’t. Ah, no, he didn’t need to encourage himself right now. . . He was picking some shorts with a strong elastic today.

* * *

The caracal lifted her personal notebook again and began to scribble her final notes of the appointment down. They had managed to get some good work done today before the fox again attempted to switch the direction of the discussion.

And, there was some progress at the end. . . However, she ended the little notebook with the same damn line she’d written so many times before.

_Still very horny for rabbit partner._

She sighed, shaking her head as she closed the notebook. Trying to hide something like that from a therapist was foolish, it was written across his face every time. Even before he let the fact, she was a ‘rabbit’ slip today. . . 

Sure, there was the consideration that they were still in an FTO situation. But it wasn’t her business to get involved in that shit. She was a therapist, and she took her oath to confidentiality more seriously than her work contract. Besides. . . A relationship might be against the rules, but there wasn’t anything in the papers about just ‘telling’ someone that you were attracted to them.

As far as she was concerned, her client’s business was theirs, and theirs alone. But, speaking of clients. . . Who was coming in next? She leaned over, and looked at the laminated planner on her desk, and quickly found the list for today.

And then, she read that name. . . “You’ve _got_ to be kidding me.” She muttered, rolling her eyes as she leaned back into her chair.  
“Fangmeyer, _great_. Two officers who want to fuck their partners in one day. . . What are the bloody odds. . .” She exclaimed, annoyed. Admittedly, the tiger was much, much worse than the fox. Everybody out here was so damn horny. . . And so was the caracal, for fucks sake.

. . . What was Officer Hyaenida, off in Precinct Three up to today. . . Hopefully _up_ for her. She reached over for her cellphone and clicked into her messages. He ought to be raring for another after-hours ‘therapy’ appointment by now, right?

If not, there was always Officer Lionel of Precinct Five.

Morally, she was not allowed to date any of her clients at Precinct One. That was fair, and she understood that completely. But, the other precincts. . . They were fair game, they weren't her clients. She liked uniforms, she didn't care who or what was wearing them. Or not wearing, she was flexible like that.

* * *

There were several astounding benefits to the ZPD Precinct One gym, over any other in the city. For one, it was free. There wasn’t a single thing they had to pay for, not locker rentals (since they already had the locker rooms), equipment rentals, nothing. And, because it was run by the ZPD, they had a lot of equipment.

Some of it may have been a little older, but they had most everything that the big gyms had. It was also hardly busy, most of the time. Like today. . . Being a Saturday, most officers who weren’t on the street were out enjoying their day off instead of exercising.

They could come in whenever they wanted to, the gym was open 24/7 to accommodate the various shifts they had. If you happened to live in an area closer to a different precinct, you could easily go there instead on your days off. Just a simple check of your badge number and you were good to go.

They also had protein powder and stuff available to buy, should you need some after working out. There were small one-use packets in a vending machine, and there were also big tubs that you could buy during the weekdays when they had someone working the little sales desk. Not everything could be free, of course.

In the end, there was very little justification to go to a different gym, just on the face of the situation. And, of course, there was the other, more important plus, as the fox finally walked through the door in his little ‘workout’ shorts and a sleeveless tee. It was a lot easier to convince Nick to go to a gym if he never had to pay for it. And having that sexy fox here? A definite perk for the rabbit.

There was something about watching the fox workout that was just so damn hot to Judy. And she wasn’t ashamed to admit (to herself) that she didn’t mind taking full advantage of watching him when they worked out together.

It’s why she liked being his gym buddy. . . the whole job was encouraging your partner by cheering them on, supporting your partner as a spotter, and staring at them as they went through their reps and sets. When you were. . . well, _attracted_ to them, in a lot of ways, it made the whole experience that much more enjoyable.

The only appointment Nick was able to make with the therapist happened to be on their day off, so Judy proposed the idea of coming along, and going to the gym while she waited for him to finish up. They often went to the gym at least once during their days off anyway, so it was a win-win to go now right before their shift started tomorrow.

Just because they had to go to a fundraiser tomorrow, didn’t mean they couldn’t also have a good workout. Although, they were not going to go full bore today. . . The idea of having sore legs while wandering around a fundraiser for hours was horrifying.

She pulled one headphone out and walked towards the fox. He’d moved off to the nearby fountain and started filling his water bottle. As the water began to slowly fill, he glanced over at the rabbit with a wide grin. “Hey, Nick.” She spoke up, as she hopped up to his side.

He went with nice polyester shorts today. She liked those shorts.

“Hello, Fluff. . . . Hope you haven’t tired yourself out already.” He murmured, as he screwed the lid back onto the bottle. Ha. As if.

Judy shook her head, as she bopped his side softly with her water bottle. “Of course not, slick. I’ve still got lots of stamina left. . . Probably more than you.” She responded, lying to his face. Yes, she did have a lot of stamina left. But that was mostly because she was lazy as hell, waiting for him to arrive. . .

It was an empty gym, so. . . She mostly just ended up doing a few little things, a stretch here and a stretch there. A bit of free weights and looking at her phone most of the time. You know how it went when you looked at your phone in the gym. You start changing songs, looking up random shit. . . It was so easy to waste time when you knew there was no one there to judge you. And, when you were technically only waiting for someone anyway. . .

She adjusted the little towel on her shoulder, fidgeting nervously. “Shall we start with some warm-up stretches?” Judy asked, as Nick took a quick drink of water, and nodded in response. “I already did mine earlier. . . but, a little extra stretching can’t hurt.” She lied, not personally willing to consider her ‘half*ass’ stretching a real effort. But what the fox didn’t know, couldn’t hurt him.

“Sure. . . You lead, I’ll follow.” He responded quickly, as they both walked out to the open padded area in the centre of the gym. She snorted, shaking her head as the fox once again noped out of leading the stretches. He always wanted her to lead the poses, which she agreed with after he tried once or twice. He couldn’t remember a proper stretch plan to save his life.

The few times he’d tried, he’d remember like 3 poses, before forgetting everything and needing her to take over. What a useless fox. . .

She set her water bottle down a little way away from her, as she started lifting her paws up in a light stretch. When she turned around, the fox had already begun to copy her as he watched her with a slight smirk. He was always so smug when he got his way, wasn’t he?

Stupid fox. . . “Try to keep up this time and pay attention.” She murmured, as she turned and looked in the mirror on the nearby wall. The mirrors were great helped her correct her own form, as well as advising Nick of his own. The stayed to her left, a little further behind as he followed her into a stretch.

She saw his wide grin in the mirror as he bent down, his eyes watching her with interest. “Yes, ma’am.” He murmured, as Judy rolled her eyes. The dumb fox was so terrible at running an exercise plan. . . All she wanted was to watch him from behind when he bent over for once, was that so hard to get? Well. . . She’d get to gawk at him when they truly stared working out. . . And hey, at least there was the mirror in front of them now, right?

“Are you sure, Nick?” She asked as she finished wiping down the squat machine. Judy knew that a lot of mammals in gyms didn’t wipe their equipment after using it, but that was stupid and rude. Everyone knew that your paw pads got sweaty, it wasn’t that hard to clean up after yourself. Just the thought alone was disgusting.

Nick shrugged, as he finished taking a swig of water. “Don’t worry, I’m not going to go too hard, Carrots. I just figured since I’m here, and you’re here, I might do a set of bench press. Assuming, you’re willing to spot for me?” He asked, grinning down to the rabbit.

First off, obviously, she was going to say yes. It was one of her favourite things to spot the fox for, watching him lay there and pump the weight up and down. . . If only he was willing to do it with his shirt off, it’d be even better. . . But she couldn’t ask for that obviously. Secondly. . . She looked around the gym, before glancing back up at him with a frown. “What other option do you have, Nick? Of course.” She responded, giving him a soft punch on the shoulder.

He laughed, as they made their way over to the bench. Nick might want another exercise, but Judy was finished. They’d only been there for about an hour, but at that point, Judy was satisfied with what she’d done and didn’t want to strain herself further. She didn’t need to deal with sore muscles tonight, nor did she want to pull something just two days before they went back on the day shift.

But if he insisted on doing a few reps on the bench press. . . Judy wasn’t going to complain. Although, she still didn’t get why he’d bother to today. It wasn’t like they couldn’t go to the gym another time, or even just do some chest exercise at home, like push-ups. She was starting to get hungry. . .

“Hey, I’m not forcing you to, Fluff. But, if you decide you want to do a set, I’ll _always_ spot for you.” He replied calmly, as he put some light weights onto the bar. The fox laid down quickly and squirmed under as he adjusted his position a few times. Judy certainly didn’t want to do a set. She was all for the bench press (although she preferred the squat machine personally), but not today. She didn’t need sore pecs. “I’ll just do a quick set, then we can go get lunch if you want.”

At the mention of food, the stomach growled and betrayed her. Shaking her head, she stepped up to stand behind his head as she placed her paws underneath the bar. She was just not going to acknowledge that gurgle, and hope he wouldn’t either. . . “Sounds good. . . Shal try out that little place on 3rd Ave?”

The fox lifted the bar up, and let it descend carefully as Judy followed the motion carefully. “Hrf. . . Yeah, if you want to.” He squeezed out, as he pushed up and let his breath out. She could still smell their breakfast, but luckily, he seemed to take her advice about that cologne at least. The rabbit could survive smelling food, that putrid cologne did the fox zero favours.

He reached the peak and descended again as the rabbit matched the motion with her hands and body. “Good. Maybe you’ll continue your adventurous streak, try something _other_ than a cricket burger?” She teased, as the fox lifted the bar again.

“Hey. . . huh. . I’ve been trying new things lately. . . give me _some_ credit.” He murmured, as the bar reached the top for a second time. She nodded, with a soft grunt of agreement. That was true. The way he fell for that little shop’s falafel wrap was unbelievable. And a foot in the door to getting him to try more things. . .

If only she could get him to try _her_ , hmmm? She snorted, shaking her head at the thought. Just a few more months and she could try and act on those dirty thoughts. If he felt the same way, of course. . . She had a lot of doubts about that possibility. Just because they were good friends, it didn’t mean that Nick would be interested in going further than that. But it also didn’t mean he wasn’t.

“Doing good, Nick.” She changed the subject, offering encouragement as he lowered the bar again. As it went down, the rabbit suddenly noticed that the fox’s shirt had ridden up a bit, exposing his soft cream underside by quite a few inches. It probably slipped up when he slid under the bar and had to shuffle around to get comfortable. And now, the physical exhaustion was just making it worse.

She watched, barely seeing the small muscles beneath the fur clenching as he pushed the bar upwards again. Judy wasn’t sure if you were supposed to be flexing your ab muscles with this exercise. . .But, she wasn’t about to complain. “Keep pushing, you’ve got this.” The rabbit murmured, as she leaned a little forward to get a slightly better view. It wasn’t quite the shirtless Nick that she wanted. . . But she’d take it.

She could barely believe that he’d agreed to remove his shirt for the massage, awhile ago. . . It wasn’t necessary for the massage at all, but he didn’t offer a single bit of protest when she asked. That was just a win in Judy’s book, and she took advantage of it completely.

And now, she was going to take advantage of his mischievous shirt. But, as the bar came back up, it once again got in the way of her view, right when he really started huffing and puffing. Her brows narrowed, somehow angry at the bar for existing. If she was going to have to wait a few months to get more than that, she wanted to get as much as she could now.

Judy leaned even further forward, just enough to see past the bar to the flexing abs muscles. Sure, it wasn’t like they were ‘huge’, or anything. But, imagining seeing them flex while he did things to h- “J-Ju-!” The fox squeaked out barely, his grip failing as the bar began to fall. She immediately seized the bar and pulled up in the hope of stabilizing it.

However. . . By that time, she’d leaned too far forward, and gotten herself way far out of balance. She tried desperately to correct it, in vain as she felt herself tilt downward from the weight. Instead of pulling the bar up, she pulled herself down and over the bar as it fell quickly. She felt her waist catch on the end of the bench, and Nick’s head as the speed drug her body down onto the fox with a soft thud. He let out a yelp, as her face came crashing down onto his lower body in the most awkward way she could imagine.

Fuck. . . She let her horniness distract her, fuck. She squeezed her fingers out from under the bar, placing her paws on his thighs as she lifted her head off his. . . oh, no?

She stared down at his. . . Well, his whole groin area, as she felt the blush immediately flush into her ears. Did she just. . . Smack her face into his. . . dick? Oh, sweet cheese and crackers. “I-I’m so sorry, Nick. I-” She began to stutter, as she pushed her torso up with her paws in surprise.

“C-carrots, please. . . get off.” The fox interrupted; his voice heavily mumbled as his chest vibrated against her body. That. . . didn’t sound happy. . . . Was he muffled in anger or pain? She turned her head around worrying about what she might see. He wasn’t mad, was he?  
But. . . instead of seeing the fox’s face (angry or otherwise). . . All she saw was his two ears, sticking prominently up between her splayed leg-

Oh, _fuck_. “Fluff?” He spoke again, as she felt his muzzle moving underneath her. Oh spirits, was she really pressing _that_ right into his- shit. She moved her paws, accidentally pressing on his groin as she rolled herself off the fox with a loud _thud_. She heard the fox groan when she shoved hard against him, immediately regretting not being more careful with her paw placement.

The fox tilted the bar to the side, pushing it up and off his chest. He slipped out from underneath it, letting it down onto the pad gently as he panted heavily.

His eyes were bulging, his tongue lolling out as he panted and held his chest. Judy winced, as she hopped back up and moved over to him carefully. “S-sorry, Nick, I lost my footing.” She half-lied, as her ears fell in embarrassment, she looked away, shaking her head. She had lost her footing, but. . . “And, I’m sorry for landing on you. A-and if I hurt you.”

“Its. . . Okay.” He muttered out between pants, trying to catch his breath “I-, uh, I lost my grip there for a second. . . It’s my fault.” He murmured, as one paw lifted to rub the slightly disturbed fur on his muzzle and forehead. Oof. . . That must’ve been really. . . awkward for him.

The other paw remained on his lightly shuddering chest. The chest it all came down on, shit. She stepped forward, arms out in a desire to help. Did he get badly hurt? That was a lot of weight to come crashing down on him. . . “Should I call an ambulance? Is your chest okay?” Judy asked nervously, as she hovered a hand above his, which he immediately brushed away as he shook his head.

“No, I’m good. . . . Just. . . A whole lotta shit happened at once, y’know? . . . . The bar fell and hit me; everything went dark. . . . an then a bu-huny was in my face. . . I’m okay.” He panted; his voice slightly trembling as he nodded. He was making jokes. That was good. . . But didn’t change the fact she felt bad. . . Especially for hurting his. . .

Oh god, that had been right in her face, hadn’t it . . .? The perverted part of her almost regretted not trying to pay more attention to what happened. She shook her head, trying to get that stupid thought, out of her mind. 

The rabbit shut her eyes, as she groaned. “I’m. . . still sorry, Nick, for everything. I should’ve been paying more attention to how I was standing. And, I’m sorry if I. . . _hurt_ you, in any way.” She murmured, preferring not to elaborate. . . He knew what she meant, right?

The fox stretched his arms out slightly, trying “. . . Well, if you pay for lunch, I’ll consider it all forgiven, okay?” The fox suggested, offering her a light smile. He didn’t seem angry. . . But then, why would he be, she reminded herself. He knew it was a mistake. Judy would never intentionally hurt him.

“Deal. . . . I’ll make it up to you, I promise.” She murmured, as the fox chuckled and rose from the bench. He didn’t seem to stumble or wince when he did. . . That was good, right?

But the fox didn’t seem to notice her concerns. He walked over and removed some of the weights from the bar as he began the dutiful task of cleaning up. “Oh? Do I hear falafel wrap, hmm?” He asked, earning a soft laughed softly in response. . . Well, he seemed to be fine, at least.

“Yeah. . . Sure.” She replied. He could get a falafel wrap then. . . But that wasn’t how she would truly make it up to him. . . In a few months, she’d ‘ _really_ pay him back for that.

. . . Hopefully.

* * *

_The next day_

Nick stood off to the side of the large ZPD lobby near one of the used dinner tables that formed a ring around the ‘dance floor’. He held his champagne glass gingerly, as he resisted the urge to lean on the table. If he was going to look the part of a professional in this gaudy, gold-braided nightmare, he might as well act it, too. Unfortunately, that meant no leaning. He had to be posh, for the guests, right?

It had only been a few hours, but the fox was tired of these rich snobs. 

When they arrived, Bogo seemed pleasantly surprised to see them there. Strange, given the fact that he ordered them to show up. . . But buffalo butt was always a strange mammal to Nick. Since they arrived early, the buffalo immediately put them to work helping set up the event. They helped set up the chairs at all the tables, and with the approximate 200 guests showing up, that was a lot of chairs.

Nick had joked about his ‘chest pain’ during it, hoping to make Judy laugh while they hauled 200 chairs all over. Unfortunately, though, the rabbit didn’t take it as a joke, and started apologizing again. . . He swore, if she said she’d make it up to him one more time, he was going to lose his mind. It wasn’t that big of a deal, seriously.

It was Nick’s intention to spend the entire time hanging out with Judy and avoiding the rich mammals as much as they could. Any that came and bothered them would at least have to deal with them as partners, and he knew Judy would take the lead on any of those conversations. That way, Nick could just silently stand beside her and pretend he didn’t exist. That is if the rich snobs cared about the ‘special guests’. Which, unfortunately, he found out they cared a ‘lot’. . .

To them, Nick and Judy were quite the ‘curiosities’ to talk to and discuss. Judy, a ‘farm bunny’, who came out here and solved a great case. She fought against mammals’ expectations of her and made something special out of her life when she solved the Nighthowler case. It was clear on all their faces that they loved the rabbit a lot. Unfortunately, most of the mammals who wanted to talk to the rabbit weren’t very interested in talking to the fox, and it wasn’t long until they were separated. Meanwhile, the fox had his own crowd, whose objective seemed to pull him around the event as far away from Judy as possible.

However, Nick, on the other hand, was a slightly ‘different’ curiosity to them. He was a fox, who rose above his ‘lot in life’. An oddity, someone who ‘proved’ that not all foxes were the same kind of fox. That foxes ‘could’ be good. They certainly liked chatting ‘to’ him, about his history and his journey, the hardships that he had to face.

The untrustworthy image of foxes never changed, he guessed. Even the ones who did talk to him seemed slightly standoffish while they talked, and all of them eventually moved on to more interesting prospects. Meanwhile, he could see the crowd around the bunny steadily grow as the night went on. . . All mammals were drawn to her, weren’t they?

He wasn’t jealous of Judy. In fact, he’d rather be left more alone than the weird ‘curiosity’ these folks had towards him. But he had to admit, he would rather get more time with the rabbit tonight than he was getting. . . That was the whole reason he agreed to come.

But that was expecting far too much, he supposed. He’d debated joining the group of mammals around her, and maybe wading his way in until he could be beside her again. That seemed like a lot of work and effort. Besides, he did get her all to himself at home. . . He really shouldn’t be greedy about it. This was her time to shine, after all.

And Nick could probably use some time apart from her, to think about things. After the short dinner event (which, of course, they were pulled to different tables for), Nick did his best to slip away from the group of mammals, as the majority made their way over to the silent auction set up in the bullpen. That cleared out a fair amount of the lobby, as most mammals made their way over to make some last-minute bids before they announced the winners.

There was a giant wine bottle in there. Nick had no idea who in their right mind would buy that, but then he wasn’t exactly a ‘posh’ kind of mammal anyway. And, no one seemed to notice as the fox slipped out of the crowd and made his way into the much less crowded lobby.

He picked one of the tables near the dance floor to stand by since now the tables were basically abandoned by the guests. A few workers came by and started to clean them up, but for now, he was more than safe there, staring out across the dance floor.

There were a surprising number of couples out there, still dancing to the classical jazz music played on the speakers. Nick was right about that, unsurprisingly. As he told the rabbit when it came to fundraisers they always went ‘high brow’ for music. They clearly didn’t care too much about the auction, which he couldn’t blame them for. None of those items interested him, either. And, luckily enough, they equally didn’t care about the fox, sipping his champagne off to the side of the floor. 

He was there, and he was clearly was visible. Bogo couldn’t get mad at him for not being interacted with, right? After all, the real ‘star’ had been nearly carried off into the bullpen after dinner. . .

But this was his time to think about what happened yesterday, in a little more serious of a manner. Not the whole accident in the gym, mind you. That was. . . an exciting moment, to say the least. It was his fault the bar dropped, not hers. He, admittedly, had been somewhat gawking up at the rabbit, the entire time. He wasn’t even sure what rep he was on when it fell. Since the rabbit was distracted watching his lifts, he knew she’d never catch him looking at the sexy rabbit standing next to his head.

It was why he liked bench press, after all.

Unfortunately, he was so distracted, that when she accidentally leaned into his head with her hips, he kind of freaked out a bit. At first, he thought she’d caught him, and was about to get mad at him or something.

So, his paw slipped, and he dropped it. Then. . . Everything else happened there, in the worst way possible. Her groin was in his face, and. . . her face was in his. . . It was like the start of a corny adult film or something, except way more stressful and realistically responded to. Luckily, she got off before she caused anything too noticeable to happen.

But no, what was really occupying his thoughts was what happened before the gym, when he was there with the therapist. And what she’d said about Judy. The caracal had a pretty good point, as much as he regretted admitting it. He was being a pretty big ass to Judy, assuming how she might react to his feelings before she knew they existed. It certainly did him no favours in the ‘confidence’ section by assuming she’d say no, especially since Nick had no idea what her personal feelings about dating another species.

She certainly didn’t seem to mind any of the other interspecies couples they interacted with on the street, and out in public. If she thought it was such a horrible thing, wouldn’t she have said something about it by now? Heck, for all Nick knew, she might’ve been in her fair share of interspecies relationships. She had been a college student, after all, and it was not the dark ages.

And. . . Maybe he was quick to assume she would only want to be friends. Sure, maybe she’d never seen him in that light before, but that doesn’t mean that she wouldn’t consider it. She may never have thought about it before. He certainly never did anything to indicate that he was interested in her, besides a few harmless flirts she never picked up on. She probably didn’t even notice he was flirting with her, with how she never responded.

He nodded to himself, distractingly. Yeah, the caracal was right. He just needed to list the reasons, and it would be better. . . Nick had no reason to think that she wasn’t okay with an interspecies relationship. No reason to assume that she’d only want to be friends with him. No reason to assume that she’d stop being friends with him if he told her. And no reason to assume that she’d say no.

Therefore, he had no reason not to ask Judith Laverne Hopps out on a date. . . . Right?

“Hey, Nick.” The familiar voice spoke right beside him, causing the fox to jump as he flinched away from the sound. Wide-eyed, he stared at the grinning bunny who’d somehow managed to get right up next to him without him hearing her. It was as if his thoughts summoned her, or something. . . Damn, usually he paid more attention than that.

She chuckled, as she shook her head at him. “You scare so easily, Nick. . . What were you thinking about so intently?” She asked innocently, as Nick’s mind raced to find an excuse.

“I was just thinking about. . . Well, how much this fundraiser is going to make, in the end. I saw the things in the silent auction, and they didn’t look that impressive to me.” He lied, as he lifted his champaign glass to take a sip.

Only to realize that, in his fright, he’d managed to spill it all over the floor. . . Fuck. “Damn.” His ears flitted back, as he shook his head. Luckily, Nick had a pawkerchief in his pocket, as he bent down and wiped up the small mess. Thank the spirits he drank most of it.

She was chuckling softly, as he rose back up and stuffed the handkerchief into his pocket. He placed the empty glass on the table, somewhat sad that he’d wasted that champaign. It was good stuff. “The big thing here is the dinner prices. They’re like a thousand dollars a plate. About two hundred mammals showed up today, so, that adds up quickly. The items in the silent auction will probably only add up to another fifty grand, or something like that. But you never know with those auctions. Sometimes rich mammals pay ridiculous prices for things.”

Ah, that was a fair point. Everyone thought it was the silent auction making the money when it was the entrance fee that really added up. Of course, Nick could never justify spending a thousand dollars for dinner. The food was good, but not that good.

And, maybe he was partial to his own cooking, honestly. “Yeah. . . Must be nice, hmm?” He murmured, glancing down at the rabbit beside him.

She smiled and shook her head. “I wouldn’t trade my life for anything. . . I’m very happy, right where I am.” She replied cheerily. That was unsurprising to the fox. The chipper rabbit never valued money, one of the things that had confused the fox once. But it made sense. He had money from his scams, but that had never made him happy. . .

Instead, the rabbit beside him made him happy. She didn’t need to encourage him to be a better fox, he wanted to do it because she inspired him. And she was always right there to support him on that journey, to the point that they were standing right here, together.

“That’s not a regulation tie, you know. You could get strangled by that.” She teased, as they both looked out into the lobby-turned-ballroom. Yeah, Nick had chosen to wear a real tie. The crappy clip ones never looked right.

. . . Was this the right time? To ask her? “I don’t expect to be in a fight tonight, so I think I’ll be just fine Fluff.” He responded, glancing down to the rabbit. She was still looking out into the room, her arms crossed as her footpaw slowly tapped to the music.

“True. You’re probably safe tonight. _Probably_. . . I could write you up a warning for being out of uniform, y’know?” She mocked, as his heart began to beat faster. Would there ever be a better chance than this? They were alone, no one was paying attention. Or would it be an awkward drive home if it didn’t go well?

Did he really want to risk it all, though. . .? He was happy just being her friend, right? Maybe it was better for him to just accept that it would never change. . . He could love her just as a friend and bury his other feelings like he always did.

. . . Never let her see that she got to him, right?

No, he couldn’t do that, giving a slight shake of his head as he tried to push that darkness away. Looking down at the rabbit, staring across the dance floor, he steeled himself against that depression. He needed to go through the reasons again as she told him. There was no reason to think she wouldn’t be his friend afterward, no reason to think that she would say no, no reason to-

“Well. We’re here, standing in front of a dance floor, just chatting. Do you. . . Maybe want to dance, a bit?” She asked calmly, as the fox’s brain froze.

“What?” He asked, confused. Was she. . . Asking him to. . .? Like, date dance? Or just, dance, nothing serious dance? No, it had to just be a regular, means nothing dance, right? Was that an assumption, or a logical conclusion?

She snorted at the fox, tilting her head to the side. “You know, dance? Two mammals can just dance, you know. We _are_ partners, Nick.” 

Well. . . That didn’t really answer his question, but that at least put it in context. Dancing as partners. “No, just surprised. . . That you want to dance with me, I mean.” He muttered, as the rabbit stepped a little way away, and turned around with an offered paw pointed to him.

“Why not? I don’t exactly have a lot of other pleasing options here. . . Other than some rich snobby hare that asked me to dance about eight times. . .” The rabbit responded with a shrug, as Nick nodded slowly.

Ah, that made sense. A weird suitor situation. Nick let out an amused huff, as he grinned. “Oh? So, the reason you want to dance with a fox, is just to say your dance card’s full, hmm? Well, as your professional partner, who had annoying suitors before, that’s something I can get behind.” The fox was absolutely down for discouraging other suiters. . .

“Hah! . . . Maybe I just want you to prove that know how to dance, hmm? You claimed to be good at ‘traditional’ dances, and I want you to put your hind paws where your mouth is. And, since this fundraiser’s trying to market us as the ‘Saviours of Zootopia’, It’d look ‘professional’ if we dance together, wouldn’t it? Couple that with pissing off some baby rich douche, shouldn’t that be enough, hmm? Since you so badly need _reasons_ for things.” She replied as the fox snorted loudly. ‘reasons’. She had no idea, did she?

He stepped forward and gently took the rabbits paw as her smile brightened ever so slightly. “Alright, rabbit. . .” He murmured, as he carefully placed his paw on her upper back (to be on the safe side, y’know), and began to slowly move to the soft classical jazz that was playing. Meanwhile, his brain was doing its best to remember the few things he could about dancing. . . It’d been a long time since he learned it from his mother.

However, he needed to make a point here. “But. . .” He began, as the rabbit looked up at him with a curious expression. He leaned in towards the black tip of her ear, as they slowly danced together on the outskirts of the floor. 

“As if I would need a _reason_ to dance with you.” He teased, his tail swaying happily behind him.

She laughed, and shook her head. "Shut up, and dance with me."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The moment the character says the title in the content: He said it! He said the thing! And yes, I titled the whole fanfiction in the eager wait for this moment. . . And the moments to come.
> 
> The next chapter will continue from exactly where this one ends. Be ready for that. . . . In awhile. Because University resumed today. . . FECK. Speaking of, I am going to put my ko-fi account [here](https://ko-fi.com/ookaminorento) in case anyone has the money and the desire to throw a few coins my way. Thanks to this pandemic and University, I haven't had a stable income for most of the year, so any money you can send will go straight to feeding me.
> 
> Why doesn't the Justice Model work? Well, it kind of _does_ , but, it generally misses important elements of discretion in the justice system. For instance, If a teenager steals a chocolate bar because he's a rowdy kind of guy, he'll get charged and fine. If a homeless person steals a chocolate bar because he's starving, theoretically the Justice Model would slap them with the same thing. Individual circumstances are important when it comes to criminal justice. Now, most places are trying to implement more judicial discretion, but the way our legal system is built there isn't a lot of room to work (For good reason in some cases). It's also the case that, even if there is judicial discretion, not charging the homeless person won't do much either to change their circumstances. And the problem is that the Justice model is specifically focused on 'punishing' the crime, rather than trying to make a person's situation better, so that they do not commit offences. It's hard to talk about in detail without going into a textbook chapter of content, but, the end result is that the Justice Model is too focused on punishment, than on the community ills that cause the crime.


	13. Don't want to change your mind

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>   
> _"Where the hell are my pants?_  
>  -Furry Johnson
> 
> Black Lives Matter. BIPOC Lives Matter. LGBTQIA2+ Lives and Rights Matter. Over 93% of BLM protests proven to be 'non-violent', and that's not including the fact that they included the tearing down of confederate and racist monuments as 'violent'. As far as I'm concerned, that should be enough for the dissenters to realize they don't know what the fuck they're talking about, and are just trying to hide their racism. See, Fox News? Ya aint shit.
> 
> Selective Incapacitation. If you thought the 'deterrence model' was trash, this thing is like it decided to take cocaine, or something. Instead of just judging people based upon the acts that they committed (like the Justice Model), this one takes it one step further by trying to 'extrapolate' if a person will commit crimes in the future, and deciding to further incarcerate individuals for longer periods if it is deemed that they will recommit more crimes. This includes up to 'Indeterminant' sentences or permanent incarceration. While certainly reasonable in some cases (Prolific Sexual Predators, for instance), it once again focuses on all the wrong ends of the concept of justice.
> 
> Yes, I'm working on my other stories too. Beastars is at 90%, and the College AU is at approximately 20% ready for release. They're coming, I promise. It's also worth noting that I am now posting this story on Fanfiction.net too, in a more SFW manner if that interests any of the people reading here. The 18+ chapters will still be separate here and will contain no important story details in fairness to everyone. But, I wanted to present that option, if anyone would prefer to read it there (Also, that means that ZNN can continue posting my story from that site if they would like to).
> 
> The dance continues, as Nick strives to prove that he remembers at least five steps of a dance routine. Maybe, if he's lucky. Meanwhile, Judy gets to stare at the fox she has feelings for, and wonder about how nice it will be in only a few month's time. Maybe. . .
> 
> Disney owns all this stuff. That's right, Disney. I'm bequeathing you this madness, should you want it. Could be Zootopia 2, y'know? I have reasonable rates.

“Alright Nick, I’ll admit it. So far, I’m impressed.” Judy teased, as they danced slowly back and forth on the ZPD Lobby floor. “You’re not _that_ bad of a dancer after all.” 

They’d only been going for. . . Well, maybe a minute or two, but it was clear that the fox knew at least a bit of what he was doing here. Of course, she never believed he couldn’t. It was merely a tactic to find out what those hind paws could do.

But the fox not knowing that meant that no one would question why she wanted to dance with him, right? “Of course I am, Fluff. I’m insulted, that you’d believe I would lie about such a thing. Have I ever lied to you?” He replied, gazing down at her with those beautiful green eyes as they went around and around on the floor. Those damn mesmerizing eyes. She could get lost in them if she wasn’t careful.

Which, she definitely needed to be, as she felt the blush creeping into her ears. Judy snorted, sneering up at him. “Yeah, actually. About Finnick being your son, it being his birthday, not having your wallet. . . Need I go on, slick?” She fired right back, as the fox chuckled softly. Did he seriously think she forgot that whole scam bit?

“Alright, fair enough, Carrots. . . You win, I’m sorry.” He replied, one paw lightly holding hers, while the other rested on her shoulder.

And a big, breathable space between the two. . . Like there had to be since this was just a friendly dance between coworkers. They were partners, this couldn’t be described as strange so long as they kept that space there. This way, they’d be able to play off anything, if confronted. Although, what she wouldn’t give to cross that space, and cuddle close against his chest.

Or, at least, let his paw fall from his shoulder to her waist. She’d settle for that, at least. Even a nice caress of her bum would be nice since that would mean she could return the favour, right? She had a lot of ideas about what she could do to the fox with her paws.

It didn’t help that he was still being an absolute dick. ‘As if I would ever need a reason’, what a dumb fox. . . Did he know how silly that sounded? And, like, half-flirtatious? If she didn’t know any better, she would’ve smacked the fox, and kissed him right there for being so damn flirty. . . Only a couple more months, right?

Then she could (If he wanted to, and with consent, of course) do whatever she wanted to the fox. “So, how did you manage to sneak away from your fan club?” The fox asked, with a silly grin. Ah, the rich mammals, who seemed to flock around her like she was some kind of pop star. Meanwhile, the mammal she did want to hang out with slinked away. . . She narrowed her eyes at him and frowned.

“Well, it would’ve been easier if my partner hadn’t _abandoned_ me with them. Alone. With a whole bunch of annoying rich mammals all plying for my attention. . . . . However, I am a very small bunny. As soon as their attention was fully focused on the auction, I slipped my way out of the bullpen, and tracked down my negligent partner. . . You’re really not that hard to find, y’know?” She replied somewhat angrily.

She wasn’t truly that mad. But still, the fox needed to understand how she felt about being abandoned. Barely a few minutes into the event, they had slowly got separated as the crowd began to surround Judy. They asked her stupid questions, that a simple Zoogle could’ve answered about the Nighthowler case. Some of the things they asked were downright rude too, but  
she could deal with all of those problems just fine.

What she couldn’t deal with was watching Nick slowly drift further away, as the two groups surrounding them went different directions for the event. She could tell through the fox’s fake smile then that he was just as unhappy about it as she was, but he still didn’t make a single effort to make his way back over. And she literally couldn’t.

She was a small bunny, drowned out by the horde surrounding her every single time she tried to shuffle the groups closer. It wasn’t long before some of the large mammals blocked her view of the fox completely, as she accepted that they would just have to deal with being apart for the early part of the event. But, even then, she’d had hopes for later, like a fool.

Then the dinner was served, and Judy was once again pulled in one direction while the fox went in another. Of all the times she thought they’d actually be able to be together, it was at a dinner table. And she didn’t even get that. She was seated at a table with Bogo, and a bunch of the ‘upper crust’ of Zootopia. Bogo looked just as distressed as she felt, as he was constantly asked strange questions by the benefactors of the Union.

She just played with her food, thinking about what she could do if Nick was here at the table with her. And, admittedly, thinking about what he could do if he snuck under the table. . . Being too close to your crush for too long left you a lot of time to daydream, okay? If she wasn’t going to get any of her fantasies fulfilled soon, there was nothing wrong with dreaming up a few more depending on the situation.

Yet, that didn’t even take her mind off the biggest issues she had about the mammals surrounding her. Throughout it all. . . She felt so. . . Manipulated and used. None of them really cared about her, they just wanted the chance to ‘associate’ with the ‘Saviour of Zootopia’. That way they could go to the next high-brow event, and say ‘I met Officer Hopps’, and all that jazz. Get the credit of knowing a ‘valuable’ member of Zootopia.

No one at the event even cared about Judy Hopps. Just Officer Hopps. Except, of course, Nick. The fox who always saw her as Judy Hopps, as herself before everything else. He never called her the ‘saviour of Zootopia’ unironically. He called her fluff, and carrots, and sometimes bunny. Granted, she’d prefer to be called Judy. But. . . The pet names were also cute, so that was okay.

That’s why it hurt so much when she saw him slip away from the crowd going to the Bullpen, and ‘escape’ off into the lobby. Sneaking off without her, not even coming to help her escape her captivity. She didn’t blame him at all, of course. She wanted to escape from it all, too. She just would’ve preferred they escape together.

“Oh, I’m sorry, Carrots. I figured you’d jump on the chance of rubbing elbows with ‘Zootopia’ elite. Maybe secure yourself a promotion, hmmm?” He teased, knowing full well that she definitely did not want that kind of stuff. Let alone the idea of trying to get a promotion by manipulating rich people. She gave his gut a quick punch with the free paw on that side, shaking her head.

Half the time, she wanted to fuck the fox for what he said. The other half, he wanted to beat him up for it. Maybe some spots in the middle there, she didn’t know.

But this time he earned a punch. “You know full well I don’t, Nick. . . I’d rather be out on patrol with you, or at home, than listen to them talk about their riches for one more minute.” She muttered, nose wrinkling as she thought about how annoying all of those people were.

Especially. . . Matthew Thumpsworth the. . . Third? Seventh? Twenty-eighth, maybe. She didn’t care enough to pay much attention to him. That hare might’ve been the only other mammal than Nick that had more than a passing interest in talking to her, but spirits did she want ‘that’ kind of interest to cease. She might not be in a relationship (yet), but as far as she was concerned, she was taken.

By a fox. A fox she would definitely be asking out in a few months. Unless he kept abandoning her with rich animals, then she’d have to rethink her plans. Probably get the same result. . . But she’d make him miserable first. Especially considering the other ‘options’ available to her, in that stupid hare.

He was on the younger end of the rich attendants, sure. But even then, he had to be at least forty. Or forty-five, she wasn’t sure. Not that age was at all important to her, necessarily. That didn’t matter in her determination of his uselessness because he just wouldn’t shut up or leave Judy alone.

Did he really think that talking about how many cars he owned, or how big his house was would interest her? That it qualified as a personality, being ‘rich’. Not even because her attraction lay elsewhere (right here, actually. . .), how did that limp noodle of a male think he’d ever get her with that kind of a personality. Especially given the. . . ‘type’, of personality that she was attracted to.

Judy probably would’ve been able to sneak away over to Nick sooner, if it wasn’t for him following her around, and asking her if she was willing to dance eight fucking times. How seven no’s might make a yes, she didn’t know. Maybe it was because she was only politely declining, but at this point, she didn’t really have the option of beating him over the head with a stick. It wasn’t until he started paying attention to some of the items at the auction that Judy finally managed to slip away and get out here.

He’d said something about giving her whatever he won since it was ‘only chump change’ to him. That a ‘nice doe like her’ deserved gifts. The words alone had made her want to puke.

Judy shuddered, as she thought about his ugly, stupid mug. Unless his ‘gift’ was Nick naked with a bow tied on, she wasn’t accepting it. And even then, she’d just slam the door and take the fox. Even though, that would open a hell of a lot more questions about how the fox got in the box. . . “Something up, Fluff?” Nick asked as he looked down at her with a raised eyebrow. Ah, shit. . . He probably felt the shudder, didn’t he? She sighed, shaking her head. No sense not talking about a guy she wasn’t interested in.

“Nothing, Nick. Just remembering that creepy hare. The guy couldn’t take a hint if I hit him over the head with an anvil.” She replied as she shuddered again slightly. Interestingly, she felt the fox’s paws flex slightly with the shiver, gripping her shoulder tightly. That was. . . weird. “If he shows up, whatever you do, don’t stop dancing, okay?” Judy joked, grinning up at the fox.

Not that she ever wanted him to stop anyway, as they made their way across the dance floor slowly. The fox laughed, one ear flitting back (adorably), smirking down at her. “Oh? Imagine how angry he might get, coming out here and finding you dancing with your partner. He might end up thinking you’re attracted to foxes or something.”

Judy tilted her ears backwards, shaking her head in amusement. Well, maybe she turned her ears to hide the blush. . . If only the fox knew what she thought about sometimes. . “Well, if him making that assumption is enough to make him leave me alone, then I’m okay with that ‘scandalous’ thought.” She murmured, as the fox chuckled in response. In Zootopia, a fox and a bunny might get a ‘huh’, if they were lucky nowadays. For the most part, the world had moved on from such ‘scandals’. Now, in Bunnyburrow. . . Well, that was another story.

Wait. . . Did that seem a little mean? She didn’t want him to think that dating a fox was somehow. . . A bad thing, to her. It certainly wasn’t. . . “Nice to know foxes rank above annoying rich hares in Judy’s ranking of ‘datable entities’. Even if only to keep you from the latter, of course.” Ah. . . Well, he seemed to be taking it the right way, at least.

Judy huffed, rolling her eyes. “Haha, well, if I had to choose between you two, it’s not hard to make that kind of a decision. I know you, and all your stupidity. He might have a big wallet, but Mr. High-and-mighty hare has the personality of a can of beans. Besides, I _am_ the one who asked you to dance, slick. If I thought people thinking I’m dating a fox was that terrible of an idea, I’d have just hidden in the female’s lockers or something. I practically had to twist your tail to get you to agree.”

Nick frowned, shaking his head. “No, you didn’t. I was just _surprised_ you asked. I haven’t had a lot of propositions from rabbits, you know. It’s a new experience.”

Judy rolled her eyes. “I asked you because you were my friend, Nick. Not because you’re a fox, or my partner, or any other motive. I figured if we’re going to be stuck here anyway, and don’t want to get separated again, this is a perfect choice. . . It’s either that or me hiding in the lockers, which sounds pretty disgusting.”

Nick raised his brow again. Wait. Did she say something weird? “So. . . What’s your plan then? Just keep dancing, until the night ends?” He asked, tilting his head to the side with a light smile.

Ah. . . That. That’s not that bad. “There’s no one here I’d rather dance with. . . So, why not?” She replied as she looked at the fox. The fox that permeated too many of her dreams. Of course, she’d take dancing with him over anyone else.

There were many reasons to be attracted to Nick, as those soft green eyes looked down at her. For one, he was handsome as fuck. Lithe, but still fairly muscled body, coupled with that face. His cute nose, those triangle black-brown ears. And now, with his large whiskers dominating the end of his snoot, he looked even sexier. She was glad he decided to keep them.

And of course, knowing what he looked like without clothes also kind of helped, she supposed. It might have been only a glimpse, but it made her spend the night looking up naked foxes. Which, of course, only made her feel that much worse. Although to be fair, she couldn’t wait to see everything in a little better lighting.

Then there was his personality. He was kind, funny, sarcastic, but wholesome as fuck so often. He had so much empathy for the people they met on the street, as well as everyone else they ever met. She remembered the day they encountered a homeless mammal while walking around downtown. Nick invited him to lunch with them and let them order whatever they wanted off the menu.

There was something about his gentleness. She wanted to drag him to the bathroom of that restaurant and screw his brains out, every time he did something nice like that. Normally, she knew you’d wait until you’d dated a bit, before feeling out the idea of sex. However, in this case, he was her best friend. She knew exactly who he was and loved every minute of her time with him.

She’d run at his pace, for sure. But, if he wanted to go all the way immediately, she wouldn’t mind. . . Wait, she was running through reasons she liked him. Not. . . Thoughts for later. . . Dancing with him was really starting to mess with her.

And then there was just the way he ‘acted’. His body tics. The way his ears flipped around. His snoot’s little snoofs. The random wags and bushes of his tail. The way he walked. Heck, even the way that he was smiling at her right now. It was so soft and warm. She could only hope he’d smile the same way at her, if and when they started dating.

Someone ought to warn Nick that his smiles were deadly to rabbit hearts. Or at least her heart. The way his whiskers were twitching softly, paired with the half-lidded eyes of the fox as they went around and around the dance floor together. What thoughts were behind those eyes, she wondered. . . Probably something about cricket burgers, or falafel wraps. . . Something silly.

But it would be nice to imagine that he was thinking about her, the same way she was thinking about him right now.

The way those vibrant green eyes slowly closed, as the fox began to lean down towards the rabbit looking up at him. The way his black lips slightly curled, as he-

Wait. Oh shit. Judy’s eyes widened, as she stared at the fox’s mouth slowly descending towards her. Her heart began to race, as her brain immediately figured out what was happening. He was about to kiss her, wasn’t he?

Oh, spirits. Instantly, she felt the heat rising as she imagined what it would be like to kiss the fox. This was what she wanted, right? This meant. . . This meant he felt the same way, right? She’d only hoped before, was it really true.

But. Wait. Oh no. Her eyes darted around, seeing all of the people on the dance floor around them. The many, many people. Sure, none of them were looking at the pair, but they were literally _surrounded_ by mammals. Oh fuck, this wasn’t good. Why was he trying to kiss her here? Or, really, at all right now? Didn’t he _know_? What the fuck? 

As her eyes locked on the fox’s snoot closing in, her body immediately reacted, her heart nearly jumping out of her chest as she made the painful decision. She shifted her paws, and quickly let go of the fox as she stepped away with a light push against his chest.

Spirits, it felt like her heart was about to explode, as she watched for the fox’s reaction. And, the reaction of everyone around them. . . It didn’t seem like they noticed, right? But. . . the fox certainly did.

His head bobbed slightly his lips just barely brushing the air where she’d just been as his eyes shot open. Slowly, they trailed up the empty space in front of him to match with her own. Judy stared at him, eyes wide in surprise and horror as she breathed heavily in the hopes of calming her running heart. She could feel the pounding in her head as she tried to wrap her head around what had just happened.

He was. . . Trying to kiss her. Did that mean that he truly liked her? She felt the warmth that thought caused, despite the huge warning flashing in her head every few seconds. The heavy, serious warning that she couldn’t possibly ignore.

They shouldn’t. They couldn’t. It was more than impossible. There was still three months to go. Or was it two? it was definitely something with ‘month’, she couldn’t remember as she watched the fox’s expression turn graven. The amount of time didn’t matter, it still meant this was impossible. As that flashed in her head, the fox’s eyes opened wide, as he tilted his head up to look at the horrified rabbit.

He looked. . . Very scared, too, as he opened his mouth. Not nearly as scared as Judy felt though, as she thought about how close she was to letting him kiss her. “Judy. . “ He started, as he straightened his spine and began to shake his head. “I-.”

“Officer Wilde.” She interrupted, in a hushed but serious tone as she narrowed her eyes at the fox sternly. Judy needed to think about this analytically. She needed to shove out all of her feelings and try to deal with this now before it got out of hand. . . Fuck. 

She glanced around at the mammals surrounding them. They were too far to hear at the moment, and none were paying any attention to her, but. . . It was only a matter of time until they noticed the pair stopped dancing. And she didn’t need anyone to start wondering what just happened to the two formerly-dancing mammals. If they saw, they’d start asking.

Because nothing happened. Nothing was supposed to happen. And nothing was going to happen. “Come with me, Wilde.” She softly growled, as she turned and began to walk away towards the offices of the ZPD. Where could they go. . . They couldn’t go to their cubicle, there might be some officers on duty nearby. There had to be a private place in the ZPD, where they could talk about this and deal with the issue.

But. . . How was she going to do that, though? She needed to tell him that they couldn’t, but. . . God, this was going to be bad, wasn’t it? How would she say it without hurting his feelings? Her ears caught the fox behind her choke on a word, before the familiar padding of his feet began as he followed her as she calmly walked off of the dance floor. She needed to keep a professional appearance as they walked away, as she did her best to walk normally.

Meanwhile, her mind was racing, as she tried to deal with the emotions going on in her head. The fox. . . wanted to kiss her. That was. . . wonderful news? Maybe. But that changed nothing right now.

They needed to follow the rules, and she couldn’t change them no matter how she felt about the stupid fox.

* * *

Clawhauser glanced around the Bullpen, looking for the rabbit and the fox. They had to be in here somewhere, right? He’d seen Judy in here earlier, but, for some reason, the mischievous fox never appeared. That he could tell, at least. And now, the rabbit seemed to be missing.

Where could they have gone. . . They didn’t leave the party, did they? There wasn’t exactly ‘rules’ for how long they had to attend. Especially considering. . .

“Officer Clawhauser.” Bogo murmured to his left, as the large buffalo approached the cheetah. He jumped slightly, as he turned to the massive mammal with a smile. That. . . Might not be good. Was the buffalo mad at him for something again?

After they hung out at the Gazelle concert, the buffalo made him swear to tell no one about his ‘dance’ moves. Although, to be honest, Ben was paying far more attention to the rabbit and fox further down the way. . . He swore that them being there together would be enough to make them kiss, but apparently, he needed to try a second time. “Uh, hi Chief Bogo! Can, I help you?” He asked as he looked at Bogo’s stern face. Was he mad at the cat, or, was that just his resting face again? You could never tell. . .

“I remember asking you to _ask_ Wilde and Hopps to come to this event. Since they wouldn’t get off my ass about it. . . . However, I don’t remember saying that it was an order. Is there any reason they seemed to believe otherwise?” He asked, revealing that he was quite possibly very angry with the cat.

But. . . Hopefully not too angry. “O-oh, I thought you meant ‘ask’ as in order. . . . I’m sorry, sir, I must’ve misunderstood.” He lied, knowing full well he did it on purpose. Of course, he did.

He thought maybe if he got the two of them out together a second time. . . maybe Nick might get brave. Or, maybe Judy might. Either or was a good thing for his little ‘ship’. But, now, with the two of them missing, that plan seemed to have been foiled yet again.

The buffalo nodded, seemingly accepting that answer as truth. Luckily. “Alright. . . Fair enough, but don’t make that mistake again. . . I could get in trouble for ‘ordering’ subordinates around for that kind of thing.” Yeah, that made sense. . . You couldn’t order your people to attend events, especially without giving them compensation, or something. And even then, that was a choice, not an order.

The cheetah swiftly “Yes, sir. Sorry.” He murmured, as his mind refocused on the WildeHopps problem. He walked out into the lobby, hoping to see the two just out there, maybe chatting in a corner somewhere. But, no. Nowhere he looked, could he find either the bunny or the rabbit that he shipped so hard. Crestfallen, he shook his head and made his way over to the appetizer table. What he wouldn’t do to trade these frilly things for a donut. . . Something, to quell his sadness, at least.

Wait. They were missing. . . Like, they were _both_ missing. Together. . . Was, that actually cause for concern? Or. . . . Hope? Maybe something had happened.

* * *

Nick had made a mistake.

As he followed the rabbit off the dance floor, that was the only sentence repeating over and over in his head, as he desperately hoped that the last thirty minutes was all a dream. Maybe he’d fallen asleep at the dinner table or had actually gone into the bullpen and was snoozing away in one of the nearby seats. If that wasn’t the case, he was going to have to face a really big fucking mistake.

What possessed him to think that was a good idea? Maybe it was the way they were talking to one another. The way they danced, with her gripping his side that way. The way they were looking at one another, smiling softly and staring in each other’s eyes. The atmosphere, the moment, it all seemed like it was the right time and the right place to bring up how he felt. Maybe it was, too.

And yet, he managed to fuck it all up. His first move was to lean down to kiss her, like some goddamn idiot fox. Why did he even think that was a _good_ idea? Sure, they were. . . Well, kind of flirting. And she was looking at him with those eyes. . . But that didn’t mean it was somehow okay to kiss her. And what did the rabbit do? The logical thing: step back, and stare at him like he was a complete weirdo.

He was still hoping it was a dream, as she marched down the halls with flopped ears. Nick didn’t know a lot about bunnies, but that had to be a clear sign that she wasn’t in a good mood. If it was a dream, like he hoped, he had a feeling his mind would’ve at least entertained the kiss first, right? Unless this was one of those ‘All your insecurities in one’ dreams, and not a happy one. . . 

No, this was definitely reality. And he was just going to have to accept it. They went through the offices, and at first, he thought she was going to scream at him in their office. That would make sense, wouldn’t it? But, instead, she took a quick right down the hall and headed further into the station. Finally, the rabbit stopped in front of one of the interview observation room doors and pulled it open briskly.

And that was the moment that Nick knew he was in really big trouble. While the interview room itself was wired, camera’d, and monitored fairly heavily, the observation room was devoid of any monitoring equipment. Normally, Nick would say that was evidence of the police not ‘watching’ themselves carefully, but that didn’t make sense considering the rest of the station. Even the halls of the ZPD had cameras, but these rooms did not.

In other words, it was the place a rabbit would go to murder a fox and get away with it. Except not really, considering you were in a police station with cops not too far away. And, there were cameras outside of the doors and in the halls, of course. Yeah. . . That was a silly thought. Still, if Judy was going to kill him anywhere in the station, this would be the space.

Or, just, you know, figuratively stabbing him through the heart. And berating him for being an idiot. Possibly even throw him out on his ass, out of their apartment. . . She did kind of have the right to do that, didn’t she?

She walked through the door, holding it open as the fox walked through, his gait heavy with regret. His mind was racing, trying to come up with an excuse. Maybe he had narcolepsy, and he was actually asleep when he was leaning down? Or was sleepwalking a better excuse? Were those the same? No, that didn-

“Sit down, Wilde.” She spoke softly, her voice calm but still laced with seriousness. She shut the door behind them and turned the lock with about as much contained rage as Nick figured she could manage.

“Jud-“ He began, turning towards her with as apologetic a face as he could manage. And sad too, since. . . Well, he felt like a huge piece of shit now. But the rabbit was having none of it, as she lifted a finger at him, and pointed to the raised platform near the window.  
Thanks to Judy and Nick, the ZPD had to put in a smaller desk and a set of chairs in all of their interview observation rooms. Rather than tearing out the wall and putting in a new window though, they logically built a raised platform and placed the desk and chair on top of it.

For the most part, Nick was glad for that little ‘inclusion initiative’. Of course, now he wasn’t looking forward to getting ‘the talk’ on top of it though. Nick slowly walked up onto the raised platform, as the rabbit followed behind him with heavy footsteps.

When they reached the top, the fox wheeled one chair out slightly, preparing to sit. However, his ears caught the heavy thumps of rabbit paw steps behind her, and he looked over his shoulder. Judy had begun to pace back and forth on the platform, an expression of deep concentration on her face. Meanwhile, Nick felt his heart keep sinking lower and lower, realizing just how angry she must be. He really, really fucked up this time. . . Shit. “I’m sorry, Judy. I-“

“Sit. Down.” She repeated, in that same calm but upset voice as before. It was almost like a mother, scolding their child. And somehow, that was way worse than if she’d just yell at him already. The fox nodded and sat down with a depressing _thud_ in the chair. Instantly, the rabbit resumed pacing back and forth in front of him, clearly pissed as hell.

He hadn’t seen her this angry since. . . . Well, never. . . Fuck. Did he have to find somewhere else to go, tonight? He wouldn’t blame her if she. . . Their friendship was gone, wasn’t it? That. . . That hurt a lot, as he began to recognize the depth of his mistake. He watched her, worry spreading across his face as he patiently waited for her to finish whatever she was thinking about or working through. If he interrupted, she’d probably just tell him to shut up, probably. It was better to let her start, he imagined.

After a minute or two, the rabbit finally stopped, tapping her foot heavily as she turned to face the fox abruptly. “What, the _hell_ , Nick?” She spoke, her stern voice slightly cracking as she gestured widely with her paw.

He immediately averted his gaze as her eyes burned holes into him, and he limply opened his mouth as he thought of the best way to respond. “I. . . I’m sorry, Judy. I got caught up in the music, an-“

“And tried to kiss me? In front of a bunch of _random_ mammals, and our coworkers? What is the matter with you?” She asked as Nick’s ears flipped back. Yeah. . . That made this all that much worse, didn’t it?

“I. . .” He murmured, as he debated on what to say. . . Well, he was already screwed, wasn’t he? Might as well dig that hole as far as it went, so she’d bury him deep. “. . . I have feelings for you, Judy.”

That seemed to give the rabbit pause, as she averted her glare from the fox for a moment. But those ears stayed down, as her eyes seemed to bore a hole in the desk. That. o He might as well get that out, even though it probably didn’t matter that much anymore. . . It was what was ‘the matter’ with him, at least. . . Although, the rabbit definitely didn’t seem to know what to do about it as she seemed to think her words out carefully. “And your solution to that problem is to kiss your fucking FTO? You _know_ that can’t happen Nick, right?”

Oof. Well, there was that twist of the knife in his heart he was waiting for. . . But. . . Y’know, maybe Caroline was right. It did feel. . . At least a little better than just wallowing in silence, right? “I. . . I know, Judy. I was just, stupid, thinking that. . . a rabbit would like a fox.” He murmured softly, as he let his head hang low.

For a moment, there was just silence, and Nick was afraid to raise his head. She must’ve been fuming at this point. . . It was all over, wasn’t it? He could stay at his mother's tonight, probably. And pick up his stuff tomorrow. “I’m sor-"

“That’s not _it_ , Nick.” She spoke, her voice breaking slightly. Nick glanced up, to catch that same angry rabbit stepping closer to him. What did sh-. “I don’t _care_ about you being a fox, not like that. But, don’t you understand that I can get _fired_ for being in a relationship with you? And you could be fired, too. This isn’t _allowed_ to happen, while I’m your FTO.”

Wait, what? Nick tilted his head up further, as he watched her expression shift slightly. But, to what, he wasn’t sure. He also wasn’t sure what she was talking about, getting fired. “. . . Why?” He asked, confused.

She growled out a sigh, shaking her head as she crossed her arms. “Listen, I literally hold your entire career in my paw right now, Nick. I could write a bad review and get you fired or falsify a report to make it so you succeed, and no one would be any wiser. I can, quite literally, abuse my power to use you. It’s happened a lot and has caused so many problems for the ZPD when FTO’s start dating their charges. Like, there’s literally _no_ way to prove that you’ve consented to anything because for all they know you’re doing it because you’re afraid I’ll give you a bad report if you say no. I can’t even prove your feelings are _real_. . . And not, just because of the situation. ” She murmured, averting her gaze as her anger seemed to slowly evaporate.

She. . . thought he was trying to get a good mark? Or, something about his feelings not being real? “What do you mean, a ‘bad report’? I’m not asking you for a good grade, _Judy_. . . That’s got nothing to do with my feelings for you.”

Judy shook her head quickly. “I can’t _prove_ that, Nick. As much as I wish it was that simple, the real world doesn’t work that way. And there’s no way that either of us can prove that if it was brought to my superiors or even the Police Union. They’d look at me like they would anyone who committed an abuse of power, and I would probably get demoted, or lose my job. Even in the best-case scenario, they’d end our partnership, and put you with someone else, Nick. . . And I don’t want to lose you. . .” she murmured, as Nick’s brows narrowed.

What did she mean. . . Lose him? And first, what the hell was she talking about. “Judy, I’ve had a crush on you since you walked into that ice cream parlour.” He blurted out, staring across at the rabbit as she suddenly looked up at him in surprise. Oh. . . Shit. . . He reached a paw back behind his head, scratching idly. “Well, maybe a little after that. . . But, I’m not _attracted_ to you because of some, ‘abuse of power’ thing. . . I was the one trying to kiss you, not the other way around.” He murmured, waving his hands with air quotes as he stared at the rabbit.

She was quite again, as the gears in her mind slowly turned. “. . . Even if that’s true, it won’t matter to them. If they find out I have feelings for you, and we get into a relationship, then we’ll still be in trouble no matter what way you try and spin it, whether you ‘kissed first’ or not. They’re still going to look at my feelings and my ability to train you impartially will be considered skewed, no matter if my feelings truly affect me or not.”

‘. . . find out’? Wait. . . Nick’s heart began to beat fast, as he thought about what she meant by that. . . Was she trying to say she had feelings for him? Or was she just talking theoretically? Should he try and keep her talking, to find out? No, he should take the therapists advice. . . If he could be direct, she could be, right? “Do. . . Do you have feelings for me?” He asked tentatively, as the rabbit narrowed her eyes at him, scrunching her nose.

And for a moment, she just stared back at him“. . . If your question is whether or not I would _consider_ dating you. the answer is yes. But that’s not the point right now. We can’t be in a relationship until I’m not your FTO anymore. . . . . But If you asked me that question in a few months, then the answer _might_ be yes.” She replied, clearly trying her best to figure out the best way to say it.

To avoid saying it, more like. . . But the fox didn’t want to say anything else unless they got that cleared up. Nick narrowed his eyebrows. “So, that’s a yes, isn’t it?”

* * *

Judy looked down at the ground and nodded to the fox curtly. Yes, it was true, she had feelings for him, too. . . In fact, she was internally very excited, knowing that the fox felt the same way as she did. And, he had to give him credit for being direct about it. He was honest enough to be straight with her, she could at least return the favour. Surprisingly, after the nod, she felt her heart began to calm down as she looked back up at the fox.

This still wasn’t a good idea. But there wasn’t anything in the rulebooks about _telling_ someone you liked them. It was all about acting on it, after all. She was scared and worried about losing Nick. Beyond the fact they were a good team, she enjoyed driving around with him, solving crime, and getting lunch together. They were a perfect pair, perfect friends. . . And, maybe she was a little too far into it to deny that she wanted to be a lot more than that with the fox.

If it was a few months later, she would’ve been giving him a very nice reward for being so open and kissing the shit out of him in this little room. However, the fox just stared back at her with wide, curious eyes. His ear twitched, as he tilted his head to the side. “Why?” The fox asked, dumbly, as he stared back at her with wonder. Why? Why what? Was he seriously asking why she liked him? What the fuck was wrong with him?

She shifted her weight on the other foot and glared at him. “You’ve got to be kidding me. . . You’re smart, you’re kind, you’re funny, you’re handsome as fuck, and to top it all off, you’re the _closest_ friend I’ve ever hand. . . And one of the first mammals to stand up for me. . . Who wouldn’t fall for a fox like you? Now, why the fuck do you like me, Mr. Wilde?” She demanded, as her ears burned intensely from the embarrassment. If this was supposed to be a tit-for-tat thing, she wanted the same credit from him. They might as well get it all out. . . Right?

Now the fox seemed unsure. “Uh. . . Well. . .” He murmured, glancing down at the ground in contemplation. He deserved it, though. How was she supposed to randomly answer that question, it wasn’t as easy as the fox fucking thought, was it. “There’s a lot of reason I like you. You’re spunky, hilarious. . . Beautiful. . .” He murmured, basically copying what she’d just told him. Like a lame fox.

He really thought he could cheat like that, didn’t he? “What _else_ do you like about me?” She asked as the fox glanced down again.

The fox gave a nervous smile, as he once again scratched his neck embarrassingly. “. . . I like the way you do that little hop when you walk. The little outbursts of energy, in everything you do. . . And the way you never let anything stop you from doing what you want to do. . . The sound of your voice, when you’re making fun of me for being silly. . . . And if there’s something you want, you give it your all. . . It’s all kind of lame, really. . .” He murmured, as Judy felt her insides twist a bit. He said it was lame, but. . . It sounded pretty sweet to her. “I just. . . . Like everything about you, I guess. . . Sorry.”

But that didn’t change anything. She needed to stay firm. “I do like you, Nick. A lot. . . And because of that, I don’t want to lose you because they don’t think I can stay impartial.” She murmured, as the fox slowly nodded in response. It wasn’t that hard to understand, right? That she wanted to be with him but wanted to follow all the rules? It was only a short amount of time. . . Right.

Nick’s eyes narrowed a little. “But. . . If you already have feelings for me, isn’t your judgement. . . . You know, already skewed?” The fox asked, watching her carefully.

She frowned, staring at the fox. “No. . . It’s not the same thing, Nick. . .” She could manage to keep her work separated from her personal life just fine. . . She was really good at it, actually. Wait, was it? Did. . . Did Nick have a point? If she already had feelings for him. . . Then, technically she was already breaking that rule, wasn’t she?

“It sounds the same to me. . .You’re not going to _lose_ me, Judy. We live together, and, we’d still be friends, y’know? . . . Even if we got separated, and I got placed with a different FTO. . . I mean, it wouldn’t change how I feel about you.” The fox replied, looking at her with those soft, green eyes.

Judy listened to his reply, trying to think of a way to prove the fox wrong. He was definitely right, that she wouldn’t technically lose him. But it didn’t mean she wasn’t going to be ‘magically’ not in trouble if they got caught. . . Or, would they? It can’t have been the first time this kind of thing happened. And probably a lot of people were never caught. Did. . . Was the responsible thing, to get Nick reassigned and let it be sorted out? . . . Or, was she confident enough in her ability to keep her feelings separate from work, to risk it?

“But, that’s not my point here. . . I want to apologize, sincerely, for. . . You know, trying to publicly kiss you. I don’t want you to get in trouble, and that was never my intention. And, I want you to know that won’t happen. I’m willing to wait until my training is over, that's not an issue. I mean, I’ve had these feelings for you for almost a year now, right? What’s another few months? . . . If that’s what you want, I'm okay with it.” He murmured, as Judy contemplated her options. And, her feelings. 

The truth was that she didn’t want to wait. And, Nick was right, Judy was a rabbit who always pushed for what she wanted. . . And could keep her opinions separate from work matters. And, if it became clear that she couldn’t, there was always the option to get Nick reassigned. She’d gotten reassigned several times in her early months, it wasn’t that big of a deal.

With that thought, though. . . . Then there was no reason not to take what she wanted, was there?

And right now, she wanted Nick. Everything else could be sorted out in the morning. “Fuck it then, I want you.” She growled as she stepped forward towards the fox. He froze, as she darted her hand out and snagged his tie tightly.

“Judy? Wh-agk!” With one, strong yank, she pulled the stupid fox’s mouth down upon hers, as she pressed her lips against his. This was what he wanted, wasn’t it? If everything was fucked up already, then she was going to fuck up a whole lot more tonight and get it over with.

And deal with the fallout in the morning, somehow. She waited too many damn months already, and if the fox was willing now. . . At least now she knew he was interested in her too.

She used the leverage of the tie, guiding her way up and onto the chair as she deepened the embrace. Her tongue teased the fox’s lips, just getting the barest feeling of those big, beautiful fangs underneath the skin.

The thought of those pearly fangs made her shudder slightly, as she moved her paws to wrap her paws around the fox’s neck. Cradling him softly, she stood tall on the chair as she kissed him, eagerly waiting for him to return the passion. . . .But, he didn’t. . . Seem to be responding much. . . Did she do something wrong? She began to pull out of the kiss, her lips barely rising from his when his paws suddenly wrapped around her waist and cradled her head, pulling her back in.

She felt his maw slide open slightly, exposing the real bony fangs to her tongue for the first time. For some reason, that brought back that same feeling she had when he crawled towards her in the Natural History Museum.

Those fangs glinting in the dim light before he lunged and closed them around her neck. . . Back then, she’d been so. . . Aroused. And now was no different, as her tongue brushed against those same fangs one more time. She shivered again but had little time to react as the fox’s tongue darted out and made its way into her mouth.

She was instantly overwhelmed with sensations, as the fox explored her mouth with his huge fucking tongue. Oh god, the tongue. At least, it felt huge. She didn’t mind though, as she did her best to counter hers with her own. In vain, probably, but it was still exhilarating as she desperately tried to entwine them together. Of all the things she’d imagined that tongue doing to her body, why did she miss this one? This was. . . Really hot, too.

After that brief interlude, the fox retracted his tongue a bit, thankfully playing fairer with the rabbit’s as they continued their deep, sloppy first kiss. Neither one of them knew what they were doing, but she imagined this was probably pretty new to both of them. Or, at least to her, she’d never kissed someone like him before. . . Maybe he had a thing for rabbits, and this wasn’t the first time? No, she didn’t’ want to think about that right now. Right now, she just wanted to enjoy the kiss, as much as they could. It was not the greatest, but Judy was definitely interested in perfecting it, as they played with one another.

One of his paws slid down her body, to gently squeeze her butt. She twitched at the touch, as she finally broke the kiss and finally looked at the fox before her. “Do you. . . Want to go back to the apartment?” She asked, somewhat nervously. Somewhat nervously, considering she’d just. . . Well. But was that. . . checking for enough consent? He did want this, didn’t he? He seemed to say he did. . . And he did try and kiss first.

“Mmm.” He murmured, as he pulled her mouth back to his. Well. . . That was pretty clear consent at least, as the two immediately deepened the kiss yet again.

Yeah. . . This was a mistake, wasn't it? Maybe. . . But, as the fox held her close, Judy decided didn’t really matter anymore.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _"Convince me that I'm dreaming,_  
>  _And you're waiting by the door."_
> 
> Don't want to Change your Mind - FM-84  
> The inspiration for this chapter, in a nutshell. And just a good vibe song.
> 
> So. . . I said there would be a shift last time, right?
> 
> FINALLY. THEY KISSED. I AM SO EXCITED, as we roll right into the next phase of their story. . . After 100,000 words, fuck, I'm so sorry everyone. . .
> 
> It may take me awhile to complete the next chapter, and I'm sorry for that. Online Residency at University is right now kicking my ass so damn hard, I have papers every two days.The next chapter will be M18+ (That will be in the title for quick ident), so feel free to skip that if you would prefer not to read that (when I finish it, of course). Also, as I mentioned above, I will be posting a 'clean' version on Fanfiction.net from now on as well (It's currently a little behind, but there's a limit that new users can post per day!).
> 
> Thanks for reading my story everyone! And if anyone would like to, I'm going to put my Ko-fi account [here](https://ko-fi.com/ookaminorento) in case anyone wants to/has the ability to throw some coffee money at me. All the money goes straight to feeding one University student who has too big of an interest in writing.
> 
> Why Selective Incapacitation does not work: Well, it's pretty damn obvious, isn't it? It puts NO thought into rehabilitative approaches and attempts to encourage the further taking of rights from offenders based upon some 'predictive' crime that hasn't happened. That isn't fair to them, or society. At that rate, it's not that hard to start assigning labels onto offenders just for the purposes of throwing them in jail for longer periods. If the point of justice is to lessen crime, this is not the way to do it. This is solving none of the issues that cause crime and benefits no one but the people who run private prisons in the United States.


	14. Mistakes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _"Furry Johnson is tired. I love all of you good people reading this. Fuck fascists, racists, lgbtqia-phobes, all that jazz."_  
>  -Furry Johnson
> 
> Black Lives Still Matter. BIPOC Lives Matter LGBTQIA2+ Rights and Lives Matter. It's been a long time, and a lot of shit's happened since then. Hopeful things, like the throwing out of a rancid orange, and the vaccine releases. I want to celebrate these things, and we should. But I'm tired, it's late, and I've worked all day on this Christmas/Holidays gift for all of you.
> 
> Here's the chapter you've all been waiting for. It's well-marked if you want to skip it, no problem. It will also be up on Fanfiction.net in a fully clean version for ZNN if they want, tomorrow morning. I'm exhausted, and I really don't know what to say at this point. Sadly, we'll have to resume the educational stuff next time.
> 
> I apologize for being late with this. University overwhelmed me, and, I actually reached out and joined the furry fandom 'officially' this past time. I joined a community, and, I'm not going to lie that I've found a lot of friends and love in the past few months that have taken up all of my free available time. It's made me feel bad for not being able to write, but, at the same time, I really am happier than I've ever been.
> 
> I'm sorry if there's errors, this was both a rush and a long job. But, I hope you are all happy with my first attempt at lewd writing. I'm not about to make it a standard thing in other stories I make, but, I want to say I did enjoy this first attempt, even if I had no idea what I was doing.
> 
> Disney owns everything. Including this now. Live with it Disney.

The drive home was. . . Quiet. Especially considering that they almost didn’t leave that room without going a little too far. As eager as they both were to keep going further in that little interview room, they wisely decided otherwise. 

Sure, the odds of that interview room being used by any of the night shift wasn’t terribly high. But, not impossible. However, going from that very. . . intimate moment, to the relative silence of the car was somewhat jarring.

They exchanged some looks, some coy and nervous smiles. But mostly, the cab of the car was dully quiet, with only the car engine filling the void. Nick debated on letting his paw crawl over to her lap, or her waist. Or something, at least, to somehow maintain the physical connection. But she was driving, and he didn’t want to distract her. And maybe he did worry that, maybe, the mood might’ve changed, since that moment.

There were a lot of things he expected when she dragged him into that room. Her crawling into his lap and kissing him passionately was not one of them (let alone, the wandering paws that happened after). He might’ve dreamt of such scenarios, but he never thought they could happen. Now, as they slowly ascended the stairs together, they were both living it as reality.

And, slightly terrified for it. Their hearts were beating a little quicker than usual, both mammals’ ears easily able to pick out the other’s as they made their way up. For the first few stairwells, it was fairly quiet, as they listened to each other’s hearts beat until the rabbit gave in and reached over for the fox’s paw.

Someone was going to have to take the initiative to cut the silence. As she wrapped hers around his, he reflexively closed his paw and glanced toward Judy in the dimly lit staircase. They shared a soft smile, before the rabbit’s twisted to a grin. “So. . . . . The ice cream shop?” She asked, one fox-ear flitting down as she brought up his earlier words.

He felt his ears heat up, as the fox glanced away nervously. That was kind of the truth. “Well. . . In a way, yeah. Maybe not _feelings_ , exactly. More I was. . . Somewhat turned on, by the way, you handled that elephant. I guess,” He added with a sly smirk and wink, as they thumped their way up the stairs.

She grinned and let out a soft snort. “Really? . . . Well, you masked that pretty well, when you insulted all of my dreams shortly _after_ ,” She teased, as the fox winced at the memory. ‘You’ll never be a real cop’, yeah, he was pretty deplorable to her back then.

The more he thought about it, the more he felt bad. “I’m sorry, for what I said back then. It. . . Well, it obviously wasn’t true,” He murmured, shaking his head lightly. The rabbit gave him a quick hit on the side with her other paw, as they finally reached their floor level.

“That was a long time ago Nick. . . We both made our own mistakes back then,” She replied, as she rubbed his side gently. That was true. Neither one of them was the ‘best mammal’ they could’ve been at the time. “But. . . Go on. If that’s not when you knew you had feelings for me, when was it?”

Nick smiled, as he thought about that question. “When I knew? . . Really knew, knew?” He asked, attempting to buy time as the rabbit nodded. “Well. . . I’d say that would be when I left for the academy, I. . . Started to realize that I had more than just, ‘Judy’s really wonderful’ kind of feelings.”

“ _Oh?_ ” The rabbit interjected, as she let go of his paw and pulled their floor door open for the fox. “Had a few. . . Late nights at the academy, Nick?” The rabbit murmured, mostly teasingly. And maybe she was a little curious. She certainly wasn’t innocent of fantasizing about the fox. They could be open with one another about that now. . . . Right?

Nick chuckled, shaking his head while he stepped through the doorway. “Yeah, I guess you could say that. . . What about you, then? When did you. . . you know, start having feelings for me?” The fox asked, hoping to quickly switch the subject. And, turnabout was fair play, wasn’t it?

That was a good question, considering A lot of the time they interacted, in those early months, she wasn’t sure how she felt. “It was not immediate for me, either. . . I certainly thought you were handsome when we met, but that was mostly overshadowed by the fact you were a gigantic jerk.”

Nick nodded, as he waited on the other side of the floor entryway as the rabbit stepped through behind him. He couldn’t argue with that, it was a fair assessment of him. He was a very bristly fox, especially at the time. “But. . . I got to know you a little more when we met the second time-“

“You mean the time you tracked me down because you needed the help of a ‘sly’ fox?” He asked, grinning at the rabbit as they made their way over to their apartment. He reached into his pocket, pulling out his ring of keys as the rabbit chuckled softly.

She rolled her eyes. “Yes. _Despite_ your surly attitude. . . after a while I felt like I got to know you for ‘you’, rather than the stuffy con-fox façade you were putting on. And, after you stood up for me, with Bogo. . . And told me about what happened to you when you were younger. . . I suppose that might’ve been where it started. . . When I realized that you were a good mammal, and very special. That’s, kind of why when you left, it hurt so bad.”

She murmured, as the fox raised his brows at her. “Huh. . . So, that means that you fell for me first, right?” He teased, as he inserted the key and popped their apartment door open.

Judy snorted, as she followed the fox into their living room. That was true, more or less. Although, from the sound of it, they were falling “Maybe. Much like you, I didn’t really need to confront my feelings until you were leaving me,” She added as she closed the door behind the fox and flicked the living room light on.

Nick turned, surprised. “So. . . You were thinking about me when I was gone then, weren’t you?” He asked, earning a frown from the rabbit. She knew what he was hinting at, and as crude, as it was, she did start it. And, it was true, in the end. While she didn’t get up too much in the first month, over time that empty apartment started to affect her.

Walking past his bedroom, smelling the lingering scent wafting from there. Even the chaos of the wires, draped all over the television stand reminded her of him.

And then, well, she was alone in the house, after all. She could get away with doing whatever she wanted, as loud as she wanted, and he’d be none the wiser. “Yeah, I did think about you a lot,” She murmured, pretending she didn’t know what his hidden message was as she turned to the fox. He snorted, knowing full well that she caught his drift. He wasn’t a fool, after all.

She smiled at him, as she thought about how many times they must’ve been thinking about one another, with only a single wall separating them. Both figuratively, and literally. Judy smirked and stepped towards the fox, who was idly playing with his keys as he watched her approach.

As the fox’s gaze flitted back up to the approaching rabbit, she tilted her head to the side, lightly shifting her hip out slightly. “So. . . What were you really thinking, when you were leaning down to kiss me on the dance floor?”

She seemed to be trying her best to capture his attention, which almost made the fox chuckle. Such a silly rabbit, did she really think he’d ever want to tear his eyes from her now? But, as for her question. . . “I. . . think it was the dancing,” He murmured, smiling as the rabbit’s eyes narrowed curiously. 

“It. . . Reminded me of how we’ve always worked well together. Working together, living together. And, dancing together. . . And way you looked at me with those eyes, I forgot why I was resisting the thought of a relationship with you. And, I guess I may have. . . slightly jumped the gun?”

“Or maybe you didn’t jump fast enough,” Judy muttered, as she reached up and grasped the fox’s tie. With one quick yank, she pulled him down to her again, although it was less of a pull and more of a lead as the fox eagerly followed the motion down. He was learning what to expect with this rabbit.

The keys clattered to the floor, as one of his paws moved to cradle her head. The other paw settled on her waist, as the fox wasted no time deepening the kiss. Once again, the fox’s tongue quickly overpowered her own, but quickly settled again into a much smoother rhythm than before.

It was still intense, as Judy held him there with his tie, her other paw trailing up his chest to wrap around his soft, furry neck. The kiss was good, as the two mammals seemed to meld into one another as they pulled their bodies together. She felt her fur shiver with anticipation, as she felt the warmth building inside her.

Of course, there was one problem with this kiss: There were too many clothes between her and him. And, as his paw slipped lower, and gently squeezed her butt, their duty belts made their presence knowns as they stabbed into one another. Nick’s belt was stabbing her stomach, while her own. . . Wasn’t particularly comfortable, stabbing into the fox’s crotch.

And, as nice as the kiss was, there were other things that Judy wanted to get to. . . And she was sure Nick felt the same way. She let go of the tie and pulled out of the kiss. The fox instinctively tried to follow her mouth, before his eyes opened curiously as the rabbit grinned at him.

“I. . ,” She started, taking a quick breath. “Am going to my room. If you want, you can come with me? It’s your choice, but make sure to turn off the kitchen light,” Judy murmured seductively, with a sly smile and wink. She wanted the fox to follow and knew with 99% certainty that he probably would. But she wanted him to have that out if he wanted. Judy could be going too fast, after all.

But Judy was sure she knew where the fox was going to go, as she let her paws trail down his chest, resting them on the front of his duty belt. Judy murmured a soft chuckle, as Nick stared with his mouth agape, a small bead of drool forming in the corner of his mouth.

She was. . . So attractive, in so many ways. Nick couldn’t even really quantify it if he was honest. Everything she said, everything she did. It all turned him on and made his blood boil. Even as she let her claws slip off his duty belt, and turned to walk away, he had to resist the urge to pull her back to him.

She’d. . . Well, maybe she’d like that, maybe not. But he knew that he already had an invitation to follow, as he swiftly flicked the living room light off and thumped after her as she walked slowly towards her bedroom.

With that adorable little white tail, bouncing all the way. The mischievous rabbit knew full well how attractive that was, as he followed after with his gaze fixed on the white fluff. And, after their conversation in the interview room, Nick was done pretending. And so was she, obviously, as she happily hopped her way towards her room. 

Nick followed her all the way through her open doorway, feeling only the slightest tugging hesitation as he passed the threshold. Except for when he was helping her move, Nick hadn’t really seen the inside of her room. His mother taught him to respect mammal’s privacy, and to him, that included roommate’s spaces.

Sure, she’d left the door open usually, but other than a glance from the living room or two, he hadn’t a clue what it looked like inside. When he first helped her move her stuff in, her room wasn’t that much different from his own.

Well, other than the size, and the giant floor-length windows, of course. It was the same wooden floor, the same boring wallpaper, and the same metal radiator sitting in the corner. Just with better daylighting, and more room. However, even though that was how it was when Nick helped her move all her stuff and boxes in, it was very different now.

Now there was a whole lot of ‘Judy’ everywhere. The nice cream-coloured curtains hanging on the windows, and the deep thick purple rug flopped in the middle did much to liven up the room despite the wallpaper. It helped make the room warmer, more vibrant. Well, in comparison to his dark and gloomy room nearby.

And then, there were the other fixtures that she’d moved into the room. A standing mirror in one corner (he remembered moving that in there), with a new wooden dresser over in one corner. Unsurprisingly, Judy had set up a computer desk in the corner, complete with a desktop and chair. He wouldn’t be surprised if most of the files on that computer were work-related. Maybe.

There were a few pictures on the wall, most of which filled with rabbits that Nick assumed was the rest of her family. At least, guessing by a few that had Stu, Bonnie, and Judy in them. And, of course, there was the picture from when she received her badge at the academy, beaming with joy.

He couldn’t help but smile, as he took it all in slowly. It was all so . . . Judy. His room was very bland, in comparison. After so many years of living in that little hole in the wall, he hadn’t really bothered with thinking about making something ‘welcoming’, or home-like. But here, Judy had transformed it into a cozy, welcoming place.

And of course, there were other ‘signs of life’ all over the place. There was a yoga mat leaning on the dresser, and a bunch of free scattered nearby. A skipping rope and a door pullup bar were also there, as Nick let out a soft snort. Was it any wonder that Judy kept fit, between this equipment and the gym?

Distracted from the rabbit, who was watching him curiously gaze around the room. And then, his eyes caught something on the little nightstand by the bed, there was a small, framed picture, with very familiar 

It was a picture of him, standing next to Judy on his graduation day. It was the one they put in the paper. But this wasn’t a paper clipping, it was the real deal. To get that, she must’ve asked the photographer or the newspaper for a copy. Right? Or did he just miss an opportunity to get one for himself?

“Liking what you see so far?” Judy teased, snapping Nick’s attention back to her as she unclipped her duty belt, and placed it atop her dresser with a devious smile.

“Ah, sorry,” He replied, as Judy walked over to him with a grin. “It’s. . . very nice. And, really Judy,” He added with a smirk. He loosened his tie and haphazardly pulled it off over his head. His first instinct was to drop it on the floor like he normally would.

She chuckled softly, as she stopped before him, reaching up to unclip her (work-appropriate) tie. It was so, so much easier. She held the fabric in her paws, playfully twirling with it as she grinned. “Well, I think I know how much you like me. . . So, that’s a compliment, isn’t it?”

He let out a nervous. . . chuckle? Some kind of noise, anyway, as he lightly played with his own tie. “Yeah, definitely,” he murmured, as she reached up, and wrapped her tie around the back of his neck.

By the moment she started to pull down, Nick had already dropped the tie in his hands and leaned down to the silly rabbit. She loved pulling him down to her, didn’t she?

This time, the kiss was very short, as Judy barely let their lips press for more than a moment before she reached out, and gently pushed the fox towards the bed. He didn’t bother resisting, clumsily walking backwards as his eyes slightly opened to a mischievous Judy. 

He felt the back of his knees hit the mattress, and he sat down with a gentle bounce. Judy smiled at him as she looked into his eyes, their height difference ‘marginally’ relieved. By a very thin margin, but enough as she stepped forward and gave him a soft kiss on his big black nose.

That obviously didn’t satisfy Nick, as he immediately twisted his neck, and kissed her lips once again. Judy smiled, as he wrapped his paws around her and pulled her up against the bed. Closer, but not close enough for-

As if reading her mind, the fox’s paws seized her hips and lifted her up. She instinctively lifted her legs and wrapped them around his chest as he braced his arms under her. She let out a soft giggle, as she wrapped her paws around his neck, and leaned out of the kiss.

When her eyes flitted back open, surprisingly Nick was not looking at her. Instead, his head was turned towards the head of the bed. At first, she grinned as she wondered what terrible things the fox was thinking about. Until her eyes caught sight of what stole his attention.

Her ears flitted down, as she felt the redness grow. She. . . Forgot about that.

There, lying next to her pillow, was a little fox plushie. While she definitely didn’t regret having it these past few months, she knew that Nick wouldn’t miss a chance to make some snarky comment. Yes, she had it because she liked him. But, for some reason, the words that came out weren’t nearly as mocking as she expected. “You kept that?” The fox asked, gesturing over towards the teddy.

At first, she wasn’t sure what he meant. But then, she remembered the small red cloth that was securely fixed around the little teddy fox’s neck. A pawkerchief that, even now, still smelled faintly of fox.

“Yeah. . . I, uh. . . Probably should’ve given that back, huh?” She murmured, as she thought about how long she’d kept holding onto Nick’s pawkerchief. At first, it was a mistake, honestly. It went with her to the hospital, and she’d taken it home intending to get it washed and cleaned for Nick.

But then, after cleaning it, she left it on the desk and kept forgetting to bring it whenever they hung out afterwards. By the time he started helping her move in, she really should’ve given it then. But at that point, he went to training, before she had the opportunity to get it back. And. . . Maybe at that point, she wanted to keep it with her while he was gone, anyway.

He must’ve had the pawkerchief for a long time because it still smelled a little bit like the fox even after washing it. It was nice to have around when he wasn’t there, or when she needed that extra bit of comfort. But, given the fact that Nick followed her here now, she probably didn’t need it anymore.

Nick, however, let out a soft snort as he looked back at her. “You know, I just assumed that the ambulance threw it away. . . Not that you were cuddling it at night, Carrots,” He teased, as he relaxed his grip and let her slide slowly down to his lap. Fair enough, she wouldn’t want him tiring his arms out too early, after all.

The rabbit frowned for a second before it twisted into a sly smirk. “You can have it back if you want. But,” She paused, as Nick’s brows raised curiously. “Do you really want me to undress a fox plushie tonight, or you?”

* * *

THIS IS WHERE THE PORN STARTS. SKIP IF YOU WANT

* * *

That seemed to get a reaction from the fox, smiling down at her as she let her paws run up his chest, to the first button of his shirt. As her paws quickly got to work on the flimsy bit of plastic, Nick began to softly chuckle. “I guess, you have a point there, don’t you? Sly bunny,” he murmured, as she flipped another button off.

The fox followed suit, as his much larger paws fumbled with the buttons on her shirt. His bigger paws made it a bit of an amusing chore, but she didn’t have much time to giggle about that silliness as he leaned down and gave her a quick kiss. Her eyes flicked back up, with a purring chuckle as she returned the ‘favour’.

It was. . . Amazing, to think that she’d resisted the fox for this long. And suddenly, she wished she was never his FTO. That she was never in such a position to resist this possible moment. Sure, she didn’t know it was possible at the time.

She could’ve maybe guessed his feelings sooner, as they continued to softly kiss while their paws worked away. 

But, while they shared sweet little kisses, Judy’s paws made short work of the fox’s buttons. She pulled his shirt apart, her paws instantly moving to run amuck in the fox’s soft cream underbelly. It was. . . Both softer, and somehow coarser than she’d imagined. Depending on the night, she supposed, as she resisted the urge to just bury her face in his chest.

There would be time for that, later. But, now that she’d had access to the underbelly, she wanted more. She shifted her legs off the bed, hopping off lightly even as the fox’s paws delicately clinging to her shirt.

He was taking too long, as she deftly undid the last of her buttons and quickly sloughed off the useless bit of clothing. Nick, taking the suggestion, also pulled his off, and quickly cast it off the bed. His paws started to reach out to hold her, but Judy paid no mind to them as she focused on more important endeavours.

She saw the fox’s tail twitch as she grabbed hold of his duty belt and unclipped the rather useless bit of ‘class A’ uniform. Why they needed to carry around the extra poundage at a ball was anyone’s guess, but it was more than useless here as she dragged it off the bed with a clunk.

Judy wasn’t stopping there, as her paws moved back to begin working at the real beltloop beneath. But the fox quickly reached down, seizing her wrists just as she finished undoing the belt. “Hey. . . Are you sure about it Judy?” Nick asked, looking at her with mild concern.

It wasn’t that he wanted her to stop. Not in the slightest. But. . . He just wanted to be sure that they were all on the same page with this. Judy gazed up at him, nodding slightly. “I know that I want to, Nick. But, if I’m going too fast for you at any point, please tell me,” She murmured, her brows scrunching in concern.

Nick let out a soft snort, as his paws let go of her wrists and trailed up her arms. He spoke softly, “No, I’m okay, but the same goes for you then. If you want to stop anything at any time, you’d better tell me, huh?” She smiled, nodding as she got back to work, flipping the belt out of her way.

She saw the fox’s belly suck in, as she quickly dealt with the button and zipper beneath his belt. He felt himself tense, watching quietly as she pulled the two cloth flaps apart. He didn’t even have a moment to think before she quickly pulled down the hem of his boxers and gazed at his junk for the first time. Well, actually, second, he guessed, considering that incident in the middle of the night. . . That was, different.

Between the kissing, and the anticipation, the red tip was already jutting starkly out amongst the cream furry sheath. As she stared down at him with curious eyes, Nick felt a little nervousness creep back in.

What did a rabbit penis look like, he wondered? Certainly not like a fox or other canines, he knew the ‘whole’ thing, was certainly different. Did she know what to expect? She had to have at least looked up fox porn at some point, right?

However, Judy seemed unperturbed, as she pulled his boxers further down, exposing as much as she could manage with his pants still on. “Do you. . . Like what you see?” He asked as the purple eyes flicked back up with a sly grin.

Her ears twitched slightly, as she swiftly reached out and caressed his sheath with her paw, eliciting a grunted gasp as his hips instinctively jerked toward the touch. “Yeah, I think I do,” She murmured, as her eyes narrowed slightly as she began to slowly massage him with her paws.

It was amusing to Judy, watching the fox breath heavily, eyes focused attentively as her furred digits slowly worked him over, the formerly small point of red quickly expanding. ‘Small’, of course, relative to the fox. She’d have been content to continue playing with him here, kneeling slightly, but she wasn’t really interested in tiring her legs out that way tonight.

She paused her rubbing, pressing gently on his groin as she looked back up to his eyes. “Move over, Foxy,” she spoke with a nod, as the fox’s attention quickly snapped back to her. He nodded and scooted himself further onto the bed. And, smartly, took the opportunity of her crawling onto the bed to slip off his pants and underwear.

He wouldn’t need those anymore tonight. And, neither did she, as she stood for a second and undid her own. She was about to just tear them off when she saw the fox watching her curiously. She snorted amusingly, even though… Well, what else would he be looking at right now? However, if there was going to be a watcher for her little striptease, she may as well make it good, right?

She began to sway her hips back and forth, as she slowly pulled the fabric of her pants down. She didn’t quite know what she was doing, but the way he was watching her must’ve meant it wasn’t half bad, as she quickly stepped out of the pants, and threw them off the bed, adding a hip swing for an extra flourish.

The fox seemed to appreciate it, his tail wagging slowly behind him. And that wasn’t considering his now very present dick, out, proud, lightly twitching in excitement.

It was… An odd shape, in her rabbit opinion. She’d seen enough porn to not be surprised, but she felt her heart pick up a little as she looked over the long shape and the bulge at its base. That knot was… Well, something to worry about later.

Now, she had a striptease to finish. She hooked her paws into the hem of her underwear and shimmied them off slowly. Judy kind of wished she had music, but it didn’t seem like the fox minded with that awestruck smile.

She cast her panties off the bed with a quick kick, sauntering over to the fox and cupping his muzzle in her paws. “Did you like that?” She asked needlessly, as his tail thumped quickly, and his paws quickly found their way to her waist. The touch was gentle, almost apprehensive. . . He’d need to get over that quick.

He nodded with a soft murr, leaning forward to plant his lips against hers again. She could feel his tongue teasing her lips curiously, but Judy had bigger plans than getting stuck in another make-out session.

Now that they were both naked, and the heat between them was… Irresistible, she wanted more. She pulled back from the kiss, watching as the fox’s green eyes flitted back open. She smiled, as she slowly knelt down and trailed her paws down his chest.

She could feel his breathing shudder, as she settled on her knees and came face to face with the fox’s member. It was impressive by rabbit standards, but honestly it didn’t look that intimidating to Judy. One of her paws slipped below to cup his furred balls, as the other gently began to stroke his shaft.

“Mmmmhm,” Nick moaned, bracing himself up with his paws as the rabbit’s digits slowly raked over him. He couldn’t tear his eyes away from Judy, as she slowly played with him while he tried to resist drooling. And resist other things. . . It’d been a while for the fox, and this was more than his wildest fantasy.

He figured he had himself under control when the rabbit leaned down and gave his tip a soft, long lick. She could feel his legs tense and saw his toe beans spread as he gasped for air. “Ahhh!” He let out, mouth hanging slightly agape as he began to softly pant. “Shit,” The fox murmured, as Judy chuckled softly.

And, slowly, she began to take his length into her mouth, stealing the last bit of breath that Nick had. Working her way down the shaft, she was surprised by both the heat, and the taste of the precum that’d already leaked out. She guessed she should’ve expected that the fox might be a bit ‘warmer’, but for some reason, it didn’t taste the same as any of the rabbits she’d been with before. . . Was it really that different?

Well, maybe she should’ve expected that, as she slowly began to work up and down on his shaft, plunging deeper with each descent. Rabbit and fox diets were nowhere close to one another. However, like any male, he made pretty cute noises as she moved her tongue back and forth as she took more of him, centimetre by centimetre.

He was a big boy, there was no doubt. However, rabbits may have already. . . Had ‘games’, about how big of a carrot they could stuff in their mouth. Looking back on that growing up, that was pretty lewd coded now that she thought about it. But while she was pretty sure she could take most of him, it was a lot different when you had an extremely warm, throbbing piece of meat in your mouth.

Especially one with a big knot at the base. She cupped the knot with one of her paws, giving it gentle squeezes and caresses to make sure it wasn’t ‘left out’. But she was sure she wasn’t going to try to take that thing in her mouth tonight. That was. . . More than a carrot.

But the fox didn’t seem to mind, her head bobbing up and down as her nose barely brushed his knot. Watching his toe beans clench and unclench, and feeling his muscles twitch made her excited, too. Knowing that she was doing this to the fox, turning him to putty in her paws (and mouth). Hell, doing it to her ‘natural predator’ too.

She reluctantly removed her paw from his ‘family jewels’, moving down to deal with her growing wetness. He was clearly happy enough, she deserved to be satisfied too. 

The anticipation, and the whole sensualness of what was happening elicited a moan as she began to rub her clit. She arched her back slightly, moaning as she did her best to work on both herself and Nick as her other paw continued massaging his knot.

But, her moan snapped the fox back to at least a little bit of sense, taking note of where her paw had gone. “Judy.” He murmured, putting his paws on her shoulders as she slid her mouth up to his tip, looking up at him with those curious purple eyes.

“Mmm?” She mumbled, her vibrating throat earning a soft squeak from Nick. The sounds he made were so adorable sometimes.

“Ah… I could help you, with that? I-if you want.” He asked, suddenly very embarrassed that he’d added the ‘if you’ shit. If she wasn’t okay with the idea of him ‘helping her out’, why the fuck would he be here?

She chuckled, lifting her head off of his dick for a moment to frown at him. “Why would I ever say no?” She purred, rolling her eyes. Judy didn’t have much time to scold him further though, as his paws gently seized her waist, and Judy suddenly found herself being flipped around.

Nick laid down on the bed, wasting no time in giving her a nice, long lick. She shuddered a bit, looking at the fox over her shoulder as she felt his arms wrap around her legs, his paws quickly homing in on her ass. And, naturally, one sneaking a playful grope of her tail. . . Predictable fox.

She didn’t have much time to laugh though, as Nick continued to lick her clit, quite skillfully she might add. Judy knew that tongue would be fun, but damn.

For a few seconds, she did nothing as he worked away at her with his tongue, paws kneading her cheeks as he used his forearms to keep her legs wide. As if she’d ever resist, she laughed softly to herself.

As distracting as his ministrations were, she needed to fulfil her ‘end’ of it too, as she turned her attention back to the throbbing red rod in front of her. Judy’s paws fondled his balls gently, with the other massaging his knot again as she gave the tip another long lick.

She felt his muscles tense, as his hips bucked unconsciously. She shook her head, using her grip on the knot to guide him to her, sliding his foxhood into her mouth again. Behind her, she could hear the fox moan between aggressive licks.

Twenty-four hours ago, she was merely dreaming about making the fox moan like that. And now, with every deep stroke, he couldn’t help but make a sound. This was all wrong, she knew she was breaking all the rules and that there’d be hell to pay in the morning.

But fuck it, she wanted to make the fox moan, louder and louder. Maybe loud enough to disturb their neighbours, if possible. They disturbed her enough over the last year, after all. Getting comfortable with it, she slowly began to increase her pace to rather pleasing fox sounds.

She couldn’t help smiling, as she felt the fox’s pace falter for a moment. However, she didn’t get a moment to rest before she felt that same warm tongue suddenly thrust inside. She felt her breath catch in her throat, moaning as the fox moved a paw to begin stroking her clit as his tongue snaked insider her.

The feeling of the hot, fox tongue thrusting inside her almost caused her to choke, as she froze for a few seconds. That fucking fox. . . So full of surprises.

But she wasn’t about to let him ‘win’, as she quickly resumed going down on the fox. It didn’t. . . Really matter, she supposed. As long as they were both satisfied in the end, right?

Which, she was not about to complain about what the fox was up to, as she felt the building climax that the multitasking fox was causing. It was just the competitive nature of the rabbit that she wanted to succeed in pleasing him first.

After all, she had no doubt that Nick wouldn’t stop till she was happy, anyway. What with that solid piece of muscle, thrusting in and out as his digits worked her over?

And over.

And, _over_.

Fuck, she wasn’t going to- “Aaah, ng-“ Nick mumbled, as he couldn’t hold back anymore. That tongue, and the feeling of her mouth, he just couldn’t hold it in anymore as he impulsively thrust his hips forward slightly as he hit his limit.

She didn’t have time to consider what she wanted to do about that, as she felt the first bout of semen rush out. It was hot, sticky, and a little more bitter than she expected. But, between swallowing or making a big mess, she’d rather the former.

Nick couldn’t have stopped it if he wanted to at that point, unable to fight it off any longer, moaning loudly as he gave in to it. However, he wasn’t going to stop until he was sure that she’d had one, too. He was a respectable fox, after all. He opened his mouth wide, pushing his tongue further into her as he did his best to speed up his digit’s work.

He didn’t have far to go, as he felt the rabbit tense, feeling the shuddering on his tongue as the rabbit let out a deep moan. She pulled her head off his member, gasping for air as she collapsed down onto the fox.

The two lay there, panting and twitching, for a few moments as they let the fog clear out of their heads. Tonight was. . . Definitely more than either of them expected that morning.

While Nick laid in pure bliss, Judy’s mind slowly moved onto what they’d need to do in the morning. They would need to talk to Bogo, get Nick transferred to another FTO. . . And she’d take whatever dressing-down she was going to get for this.

There were going to be words. Angry ones about professionalism, making mistakes. She might. . . Even lose her promotion, or worse. It wasn’t like she was going to escape this without at least a stern look, right?

Not that she regretted it, of course. Not even slightly, especially now. But she’d made mistakes that were going to have consequences. Even if. . . They chose to transfer Nick to a different precinct. That would. . . really suck.

“Mmm… Judy?” Nick murmured, lifting his head to look at the collapsed rabbit. His voice jerked her out of her thoughts, as she turned to gaze back at him. The fox looked very pleased, but also very tired.

“Hmm?” She replied curiously, as she slowly turned herself around and laid back down on the fox. She buried her head in his neck fluff, exhausted. She didn’t want to think about that anymore tonight. . That was something she would have to deal with tomorrow. Tonight, she just wanted to hold him and be held.

Which, judging by how quickly those big fox arms enveloped her, he felt the same. “Was it. . . Good f-“

“Obviously,” Judy interrupted, as she gave his chest a gentle squeeze. “Silly fox. . .”

He chuckled softly, as he nuzzled his nose between her ears with a heavy sigh. “I, uh. . . Love you.”

She smiled and gave him a soft nip on the neck. He flinched, looking down at her with a confused expression. But she just rested her head back into his fluff and sighed. “I love you, too.”

* * *

THIS IS WHERE THE PORN ENDS

* * *

_Three hours later, elsewhere in the city_

Fangmeyer burst into the room, files in hand as Wolfard followed diligently behind them. It was late at night, and they’d finally caught who they figured was the fencer behind all of the industrial park thefts.

It had become apparent that they had to have someone to sell the stolen tools to. They weren’t showing up in pawnshops, at least not right away. There had to be a fencer, someone who was likely involved in coordinating all of this. Could even be the “ringleader”, so to speak, helping them set up the thefts.

Either way, they would be connected to several more BNE artists around the city no doubt, and if they got this cheetah to talk, they would have all the information they could need to make a serious dent in property crime.

But first, they’d need to get him to talk. “Alright, so what do we know, Wolfard?” The tiger asked as they looked through the one-way mirror at the cheetah sitting at the desk.

He looked pissed, but then Wolfard guessed that was par for the course. Being caught in a warehouse full of stolen goods, in the wee hours of the morning, was pretty damning. He was probably trying to rack his brain for how they found him.

Of course, that’s what happens when you offer two down-on-their-luck mammals the opportunity to not go to jail. They rat out your meeting spot to exchange stolen goods. Then, the police run traffic cams for a vehicle large enough to fit a stolen generator, on a certain night.

That way, you figure out where the warehouse is. And, the hour in which the occupants of the warehouse might be there. It was really not a good day for Micah Cheerk.

“Name’s Micah Cheerk. Criminal record for break-ins got done once and put in jail for a year. Came out, never got caught doing crime after it. Seems he changed positions after he got out, went up the ladder. Now, we caught him with 3 refrigerators, 6 generators, 4 toolboxes full of tools, and. . .” The wolf trailed off, as his nose caught something. . . Odd.

There were a lot of smells in the interrogation room. That’s what you got when you had a bunch of police officers coming in and out, as well as witness and what not. It got a little ‘scent laden’.

“Wolfard?” The tiger asked, tilting their head to the side. “Is there something wrong?”

This was a different scent than usual, though. He continued to sniff, following the scent to its origin. It was. . . Over by the window? By the small animal desks? Why? And. . . What _was_ it?

He slowly walked over, taking whiffs of the air every few seconds as he tried to figure out what. . . That meant. But as he got closer to the small chairs, the clearer the picture came together.

Sometime recently. . . There was a fox, and a bunny, right there. Right in that chair. And. . . 

They were both really, really horny.

“What is it?” Fangmeyer asked, confused at the antics of their wolf partner.

He turned and looked at her with eyes filled with dread. This was. . . Not good. Not good at all. “We have a problem.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading my story everyone, and keeping the faith with way too long with no updates. If anyone would like to, I'm going to put my Ko-fi account [here](https://ko-fi.com/ookaminorento) in case anyone wants to/has the ability to throw some coffee money at me. All the money goes straight to feeding one University student, wanton and weary.


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